Mayor Walsh, Jackson Square Partners celebrate revitalization of Jackson Square

BOSTON - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined Jackson Square Partners, a collaboration led by Urban Edge and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), to announce three significant milestones achieved in the Jackson Square Redevelopment Master Plan. These milestones mark the final phases of development that will add 37 affordable units to the city’s housing market, the start of construction on a separate residential development that will create 39 new affordable units for families, and the beginning of a land remediation process for a nearby recreation center, with the help of a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“I am proud that the City of Boston has invested funding into the redevelopment of these once vacant and underutilized public and private parcels,” said Mayor Walsh. “I want to thank the EPA for this grant to help us move forward with the process of restoring the land to a useful state, and our partners for working with us to create transit-oriented housing that will knit the Roxbury and Jamaica Plain Neighborhood together.”

The three milestones include:

Completion of Jackson Commons: This project cost more than $21 million and is comprised of a 37 unit, mixed-use and mixed income housing development near the Jackson Square MBTA stop. The development is more than 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail, as well as 2,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The redevelopment consisted of the adaptive re-use and renovation of the 100 year old, three story, 23,600 square foot Webb Building. The residential unit mix includes 25 two-bedrooms, 7 one bedrooms and 5 three-bedrooms.  Eight units are reserved for homeless/formerly homeless residents earning no more than 30 percent of AMI.  The remaining 29 units are affordable to residents with income limits of 60 percent AMI to 110 percent AMI.

Groundbreaking of 75 Amory Ave. Development: The third phase will break ground on a $16 million development that will create 39 units of affordable housing for families. The site is being developed by the JPNDC.

$200,000 in Funding for Land Remediation: The U.S. EPA awarded the City of Boston $200,000 in Brownfields Grant for the remediation of the former industrial sites next to Jackson Commons at 1542 Columbus Avenue in Roxbury. This land will be transformed into a recreation center for the neighborhood.

When complete, the $250 million Jackson Square Redevelopment Master Plan will include more than 400 units of housing, 60,000 square feet of ground floor retail,  two major community facilities,10,000 square feet of office space,  and will have generated an estimated 276 construction jobs. Among other funding sources, Urban Edge has received more than $4 million in funding assistance from the City of Boston and more than $2 million from the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

“The success of Mayor Walsh's housing plan depends on building great housing that is affordable to a variety of income levels and siting it near really good transit," said Sheila A. Dillon, Boston's Chief of Housing.  “We are lucky to have such strong partners at the neighborhood, state, and federal level to help us accomplish these goals.  Jackson Square is such an important neighborhood to the City, with its great access to transit, new housing, and an active, vibrant community.”

In accordance with the City of Boston’s Green Affordable Housing Program, Jackson Commons boasts high efficiency heating and cooling systems fixtures as well as Energy Star rated appliances.

The Jackson Square Redevelopment Initiative is a master plan designed to transform 11 acres of vacant lots into a vibrant, mixed-use, environmentally sustainable, transit-oriented community. To learn more, please visit here.