Boston City TV, MA Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), 15 Jul 2021

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From YouTube: Clippership Redevelopment Ribbon Cutting

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Join in as Mayor Janey celebrates the opening of the Clippership apartment complex, a development featuring 22 apartments and 30 condominiums in an effort to provide affordable, quality housing for middle-income homebuyers.

A

Good morning, I think we're going to get going if folks can uh settle into some seats.

A

All right, hello, my name is kate bennett, I'm the administrator and ceo at the boston housing authority. I couldn't be happier to be here today to welcome all of you to the harbor, walk residences and harbor 125.

A

I know that a bit of rain and wind can't deter this crowd to me it's a beautiful day, um so I thank of you all for uh for coming out, uh despite despite the weather, uh to celebrate these beautiful new homes and I'm truly delighted to be here.

A

There are 22 new, deeply affordable rental homes and there are 30 home ownership units, 14 of which are deed, restricted and I'm just so proud of our city for securing footprints of deeply affordable housing in neighborhoods and locations like this, so that everyone, regardless of income, has access to these views and to this waterfront um first. I want to really congratulate and welcome clipper ship former clipper ship residents to your new homes. um I want to thank you for your for your patience and your commitment over the last several years we were just talking.

A

I was talking with mr ahmed about years ago, sitting together at the heritage community, room planning for this development and your vision, and your support has made this project a better project.

A

So thank you many other partners to thank, but uh I'll, get to that without further ado, I really just want to introduce our first speaker, mayor, janie, mayor kim janey has been a regular visitor and staunch supporter of our public housing communities and her guiding principles of equity and justice have been really evident in her leadership over the past several months with regard to not only the pandemic and recovery from the pandemic pandemic, but more to the point of this event as our city struggles and continues to struggle with the affordable housing crisis.

A

So I want to thank mayor janie for her support and leadership in these past months. Please, a warm welcome for our mayor kim.

A

B

Oh, I don't know if I think it's such a beautiful day, I'm a little chilly here, uh but it is an amazing day and I'm really grateful uh to be here, and so I'm gonna keep my remarks uh very brief. I just wanna thank a couple of folks and I'm really excited uh to do the tour and I wanna start by thanking you, kate.

B

uh You have been amazing uh stepping in and leading the boston housing authority, and I'm just so grateful for your leadership in the city and for your partnership had the wonderful opportunity of being with you last week in charlestown uh and seeing the important work that is about to happen there.

B

You know it is a great day here in east boston, and I couldn't be more thrilled to be here to to celebrate uh this project, um and I want to really direct people to this banner here, because this is what uh an important partnership looks like and what you don't see uh represented on the banner are the residents of east boston, particularly the residents that are here, and so I want to thank you, mr ahmed, for as kate said, are your patients and that we are now here to welcome residents back and not only offer affordable housing but to offer uh homeownership opportunities, um and so that is, I think, really important uh in boston.

B

As we know, uh covid has uh certainly devastated uh many uh in our in our city. uh We are finally at a place where we can gather under a tent without mass, but we know that it's it's been difficult and so coming out of the pandemic, the more that we can do to address our housing crisis, uh the better off we will be and the stronger a community we will be.

B

I want to also acknowledge uh that we're joined by the chief of of housing, director of neighborhood development, sheila dillon from my team, and I'm so grateful for your leadership uh sheila as it relates to this project.

B

um This has been uh years in the making and as mayor I get to come in on the the final stretch of the game and bring it home, and I'm just grateful for everyone who has been laboring over the last few years to make sure that we could get this underground and that we could be here today, and I want to thank mass housing, and I certainly want to thank you crystal.

B

You have been just incredible uh decades and decades as an advocate.

B

um You know- and it's it's been just amazing- to see that the many partners who have come together to make this work- and I know your commitment- continues. Whatever role you play and you've been at the forefront, and so I'm just grateful that you share this vision of making sure that the residents of boston have a place to call home and it was 11 million dollars right in this project. So I want to thank you for that.

B

We have rental units here, we're welcoming families back here. We have homeownership opportunities here and so many other folks who are represented here on the banner win. Companies um bluehub have been part of uh this project and I'm I'm just so thrilled, uh and I certainly also want to congratulate win companies on their 50th anniversary. Ask folks to give it up and give a warm applause for that.

B

I think that is important, and the thing that I really want to stress here, as I close, is the collaboration, the partnership uh you know from folks who are in in real estate development people who are in the affordable housing uh work people residents of this community and certainly the city of boston, providing opportunities again to make sure that, as we address the housing crisis, the affordability crisis in our city, that we are being creative, that we are creating opportunities for homeownership for affordable housing, for housing, for working families, who are often pushed out and squeezed out when we, when we've been doing our development in the past, and so we have an opportunity coming out of the pandemic.

B

To do a reset and make sure that we are using every single tool in our toolbox to ensure that we have strong vibrant communities, and this one is so beautiful right on the water, and it is what our residents deserve.

B

It is what our residents deserve, and so I want us to keep doing this work together and I'm gonna be quiet now, so we can hear from other speakers and get out of the cold in the rain and see these beautiful apartments. So thank you so much everyone for your work on this project.

A

Thank you mayor um and, while we're on the city, I just I really want to thank all of my city, colleagues sheila, but also colleagues in bpda and the department of public works and transportation and all of the departments that work really hard on all of vha's redevelopment efforts to make what are really complicated and complex projects a little bit easier. And so thanks a shout out to my city, my city, friends.

A

Our next speaker is someone with a vibrant legacy in the state's affordable housing community. Crystal cornege, as you know, is the executive director of mass housing, but has also led the state's housing and community development agency. She has led urban edge and in all of those roles, she has been a great friend to the city of boston.

A

She's been a great friend to low-income communities throughout the state and she's been a great friend to me. So I want to thank her and her team at mass housing. There are several members here that we work with day in and day out at mass housing. I want to thank you for that. Active and fruitful partnership give it up for crystal carnegie.

C

I want everybody to know that I started doing this work when I was 10., and so all that decades and decades and all those different jobs like I'm telling you it's not it's not as long as you think it is so um anyway. Super excited to be here definitely echo things that um kate and mayor janie have said about the residents.

C

One of the things that's most exciting about clipper ship, for me is that it represents the kind of community we want to build everywhere, where there's a place for folks of different incomes.

C

There's a place for folks of different tenures people who want to rent people who want to own, and we have got to get more serious about home ownership in the city of boston and across the commonwealth and what that means for equity growth and what that means for stabilizing families.

C

We've learned through the pandemic, many things, but most of which is that those who have a safe, stable home can we endure a lot of external kind of uh challenges to their lives and so in. In response to that, the governor just put forth a bill to try to put a billion dollars into housing, 500, 500 million of which would be for home ownership.

C

Both to help people get into good mortgage products, but also to develop housing, we have a housing shortage in this in this country, but in this state as well, boston has long been a great partner, doing home ownership all along um along with their other, affordable housing work, and so having that happen here at clipper, ship is pretty awesome um and particularly with partners like we've had, uh as as uh mayor janie said, like other people did all the work here and so want to raise a hand to the mass housing team.

C

Here, y'all should raise your hands down the car right now.

C

Because these deals don't get done on their own, and this work is so important that it takes a whole group of us to make sure that we're having impact on people's lives. So thank you have a great day stay dry.

A

I just want to take a moment before introducing the next speaker to thank the bha team led by joe bamberg who's on vacation today, but it's a dream team and we work across all areas of the agencies to make a project like this happen, staff from occupancy communications operations leased housing, you guys are awesome. Thank you.

A

Next up is wing companies, gilbert nguyen and gilbert. In turn, we'll introduce mr ahmed. Our resident speaker um wynn has been a partner with bha since the early 90s first at mission, maine now a clipper ship, also at mary ellen mccormick in south boston, and um I want to say congratulations on the 50th anniversary. I want to say congratulations to gilbert and all his team for all that they have done in your tenure to develop, affordable and mixed income housing both here and nationally.

A

It's really quite a company, and I want to just uh kudos to gilbert and everyone that worked on the project. Gilbert nguyen.

D

uh Thank you um good morning, so usually I back cleanup on these events here, but today I've uh I have a fun job, so it's been become really a tradition and when, in the last decade, or so, with with larry curtis with michael putzinger and I to have a resident speak at our ribbon cuttings, because really, when all is said and done, the financing is done. It's the people who live here who end up making this a worthwhile project for everybody.

D

Today we have a really impressive speaker, um someone I've got to know a little bit and who really embodies an american story. Greg zabir ahmed moved to the united states about 10 years ago from ethiopia fast forward, three children graduating from college, one starting med school and moving in or having moved in to the renovated harbor walk just a few months ago. This is a true success story and something we can do a better job at frankly in this country, the city of boston does a wonderful job.

D

The state does a wonderful job, but we can always do more, and one of the things that we can do better is, as crystal said, as the mayor said, is we can do mixed income housing? We can do mixed-income housing next to the waterfront so that it's not shut off from everybody else, so we can have more success stories like the ahmed family. Mr ahmed, could you please speak for a few minutes? Thank.

E

E

Good morning my name is.

E

Honorable mayor honorable guests and management and staff of wind company and residents, it's my great pleasure to attend and deliver this speech about my experience. During my stay in boston housing authority.

E

I am an immigrant from ethiopia, the region of tigrid. I was a teacher, a high school director zone, education officer and manager for non-governmental organization.

E

I arrived in boston in 2010, thanks to my son, who went through the process of helping me to get a permanent resident in the united states. Now I am a citizen of the united states of.

E

America, from 2012 up to 2015, I was in brighton the first year living by myself and the last two years with my family in one bedroom apartment.

E

I'm sure all can imagine the difficulty a family can face when living in one bedroom apartment. We kept our heads up and our hopes alive that this was a test in the life that we had to temporarily endure and we are right.

E

Fortunately, at the end of 2015, we are transferred to the townhouse of clippership lane with four bedrooms. We were extremely excited and grateful for the new found space.

E

We lived on clippers plane for a better part for three years until 2018, when we moved to the re-innovations that was going to take place, my family was moved to roxbury with alice taylor management, and we stayed there for three years until june. 9 2021, the patient of the past three years, has served as well as we return it to a brand new apartment, complex with a newfound vibrant community, clean environment.

E

This apartment has excellent amenities from kitchen to laundry central ac and much more. I have a lot to say about the new apartment, really those who knows who was living in 18, clippership lane and now who are living. We can see a great difference thanks to boston, housing, authority and twin company, who did the great job.

E

I was a member of the committee who was discussing the transfer and re-innovative issue with boston, also both boston housing, authority management and engineers of wind company.

E

They kept the promise they made during the meeting and for my family, and I am sure other members of the community are very grateful.

E

The process of transferring to this apartment was made very easy, with the help of donna, kenshin and saudi dies of housing opportunity unlimited, they are extremely professional and cooperative with any assistance we may need their positive mindset makes them very approachable and make our conversations that much more enjoyable.

E

I would like to thank this woman for all they do for my family and for our community.

E

Honourable guests, I would like to add one thing, even though it is private. I would like to convey my appreciation to boston housing authority for allowing me to affordable house live in a very safe and comfortable environment.

E

My children attended their high school and universities living in boston housing authority, and they will be forever grateful. They are a boston college, a boston university and siemens university graduates.

E

My older son is purchasing medical school in taft university next month. My daughter is going to go to boston university for her master's program on september.

E

House, boston, housing authority has played a vital role in helping my children succeed, and I am certain that they will day their return.

E

The favor they like to do boston housing will boom. Thank you very.

E

A

A

Thank you so much, mr ahmed beautifully spoken. Our final speaker today before we get to the tour, is drew colbert senior project director at wynn, who has been really the on the ground project director for this entire effort. Somebody has to kind of herd the cats somebody has to really bear the psychic burden of all of the details and- and that was drew in this project, and so I want to thank you drew and please come up and say a few words. Thank.

F

You well thank you, kate, uh under your leadership, um you know this project and this partnership, you know, has yielded spectacular results. So thank you and all that you do. um How do I follow that up?

F

I think I think I should just walk away and say thanks for coming, um but what a spectacular location, uh it's very rare, that you have this type of backdrop for a mixed income community, especially one with both rental and home ownership opportunities.

F

I urge that folks walk around and enjoy all that east boston has to offer you'll see that there's been significant investment made and public transit and open space along the waterfront that's accessible to all. But what we haven't seen until this project is a majority affordable, housing project on the waterfront.

F

We haven't seen that since maverick landing was done by the bha almost 15 years ago, these two buildings represent years of planning and collaboration with residents and neighbors, and that's not easy work and it's a it's a battle that everyone in this room faced and is one the project involved: a complex, permitting process, unforeseen conditions in the existing buildings and in the soils a global pandemic.

F

No one saw that coming and a monsoon at the ribbon cutting during the development process. You can become disconnected from the ultimate goal every day, there's another fire to put out an issue to overcome, but yet we did overcome, and today we get to celebrate 52 homes for both rental and home ownership and that's the fruit of our labor.

F

I had the fortune to join my team at wynn, residential and hou, welcoming residents home. That's the way, that's what we describe here. We welcome people home and, as we toured through their new homes at harbor, 125, witnessing their reactions of joy and excitement face timing with family members.

F

It brings a tear to your eye and that's what it's all about. Mr ahmed, I mean. I was with you on you going through the units, and all we could talk about is how we kept our promises. We kept those commitments and thank you for speaking today.

F

Your and your family is that's the american dream, so those are the moments that close the loop that make it all worth it today, we're not celebrating dollars invested or jobs created, including 50 percent of the labor hours that were mwb in section 3 workers we're not celebrating enhanced access to the waterfront or resiliency to future sea level rise, we're not celebrating leed gold, certification or environmental remediation.

F

Yes, all these are great things that are byproducts of this development, but today we're celebrating the 52 households whose lives will be transformed due to the new homes that we created.

F

This high quality mixed income transit oriented development is on the waterfront. You already know the key partners at the city, mass housing and the bha, but I'd like to acknowledge the rest of the room. So thank you to cranshaw construction and their subcontractors, the architectural team and their engineering partners, niche engineering, halverson, haley and aldrich axiom environmental cooperstown, environmental, hou, mco housing services, graffito lend lease briggs. The persac group four point associates nixon peabody, ghoulsman stores, robinson and cole, blue hub capital, the life initiative, enterprise, bank and bank of america.

F

It takes a village and I would be remiss if I did not recognize our smart and hardworking property management team. That is absolutely world class. So thank you to win.

F

Residential and it looks like the rain is going to hold off for the tour. I urge everyone to to go see an apartment at harbor 125. We have two units that are available to see at harbor walk residences, one of which is right here. At the end, it's a workforce three-bedroom unit that is going to be listed just under 400 000, its market rate unit two floors above sold for 942 thousand dollars.

F

So that is really what we're delivering here today. So thank you so much for coming and thank you, kate and thank you.

A

Mayor, thank you, drew and uh yeah. I would encourage everybody to take advantage of uh seeing a unit if, if, if it's not the day to explore the surrounding area neighborhood, please come back and do so. This concludes our formal program. I really want to thank everybody for coming out today. Appreciate everybody and we'll see you.

C

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