Council Approves CPA Funding

By John Lynds

Last month Mayor Martin Walsh and the City’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) recommended that two project in Mission Hill and other projects across the city, totaling more than $34 million, be included in the fall funding round for the Community Preservation Act (CPA).

The last hurdle in the process was a vote by the City Council to appropriate the funds and that moment came during last Wednesday’s Council meeting.

The Council voted unanimously last month to release the $34 million in recommended funding to the projects here in Mission Hill and citywide.

“It’s an exciting day in Boston,” said At-Large Councilor Michael Flaherty who chairs the Council’s CPA Committee. “Whether it is the affordable housing opportunities or the beatification of our parks this round of funding will continue to benefit Boston residents for generations to come. This is why we supported the CPA and now voters and the residents are finally seeing these projects come to fruition.”

In Mission Hill $927,500 was approved for the Terrace Street Artist Condominiums to build 13 home ownership units with live/work space for qualified artists earning between  70 – 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), or between $60,000 and almost $70,000 for a two-person household.

Another $850,000 was approved to Sociedad Latina to restore exterior features, bay windows, masonry, and roof for 1912 townhouse serving thousands of Latino youth.

By adopting the CPA in November 2016, the City has created a Community Preservation Fund. This fund is capitalized primarily by a one percent property tax-based surcharge on residential and business property tax bills that began in July 2017. The City will use this revenue to fund initiatives consistent with CPA guidelines: affordable housing, historic preservation, open space and public recreation.

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