NEI was honored with a
Inclusion
Award from MHIC for its impact on the Olmsted Green project.
The Pryde is
Boston,
The
NEI was honored with a Racial Equity and Inclusion Excellence Award from the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) for its impact on the Olmsted Green 100-unit rental project. NEI and developer, Lena New Boston, LLC, were recognized at their annual meeting at the Omni Parker House in Boston in June.
“Olmsted Green is an exceptional example of what is possible when development teams prioritize racial equity and inclusion and follow industry-proven best practices to achieve results,” said Travis Watson, director of racial equity and community engagement at MHIC. “The Olmsted Green team believed that the most successful projects reflect the community’s vision and that developing long-term, capacity-building relationships with Black and brown contractors and workers will help to chip away at the racial wealth gap. NEI awarded $11.7 million, or nearly half of the construction contracts, to Black and brown-owned businesses and they directed 68% of the construction hours to Black and brown workers.”
The redevelopment of Olmsted Green, the former Boston State Hospital site, creates over 500 mixed-income units as the first
workforce housing homeownership project funded by MassHousing’s Opportunity Fund, the City of Boston’s Office of Neighborhood Development, and the Neighborhood Housing Trust. The project is designed to be a 21st century transit-oriented and energy efficient community.
NEI has been recognized with a 2022 Corporate Citizenship Award from the Boston Business Journal (BBJ). As one of the top charitable contributors to Massachusetts non-profits during the 2021 calendar year, NEI was honored at the BBJ’s 17th Annual Corporate Citizenship Awards on Thursday, September 8th at the Revere Hotel Boston Common.
The Business Journal annually publishes this list to showcase companies that promote and prioritize giving back to their communities – a feat that is even more important during times of turmoil and crisis, such as those we all collectively experienced throughout 2021. This year 95 companies have qualified for the distinction by reporting at least $100,000 in cash contributions to Massachusetts-based charities last year as noted above. The honorees this year include companies from such industry sectors as financial and professional services, health care, technology, retail, and professional sports.
NEI prioritizes equity and inclusion with initiatives that are designed to engage and maximize the participation of diverse local contractors and community-based workforce on all of its construction projects. To this end, NEI partners with a number of local organizations
The Pryde — New England’s first LGBTQ+ - friendly senior affordable housing complex is currently under construction in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, MA. The Pryde is a joint development by Pennrose and LGBTQ+ Senior Housing, Inc., that will convert the former William Barton Rogers School into 74 units of accessible mixed-income housing for seniors.
This project is a renovation of an existing school with multiple additions to the building. The original building was 102,000 square feet, and the final project will be 139,500 square feet. Developers are targeting LEED Silver certification.
such as Metro Housing Boston, The Neighborhood Developers, Urban Edge Housing Corp., Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp., Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., and others.
“To be ranked with Massachusetts’ most philanthropic companies is an honor, and one we work hard to achieve,” said Josef Rettman, president of NEI. “We are dedicated to being a responsible corporate citizen and a positive force enhancing our communities.”
NEI General Contracting has started construction at 25 Sixth St. Selected by The Neighborhood Developers, Inc. (TND), a community development corporation (CDC) founded in 1978, NEI will transform a former light industrial site into a single mid-rise building with 62 new mixed-income rental and homeownership units, located on the MBTA’s Silver Line near Bellingham Sq.
The Massachusetts Legislature committed $115 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to scale up the Commonwealth Builder program, a landmark initiative to address the racial homeownership gap in Massachusetts by creating new homeownership and wealth-building opportunities in communities of color. Massachusetts’ governor Baker and MassHousing launched the program in mid-2019, as a $60 million initiative to build roughly 500 new workforce homes affordable to first-time homebuyers. It is the largest state-level program of its kind in the nation and 25 Sixth St. is the first homeownership project in Massachusetts to utilize ARPA funding.
Representative Pressley recently visited the construction site and engaged in a discussion with Chrystal Kornegay of MassHousing around the need to invest in homeownership within communities of color. “Equity, equity, equity,” emphasized Congresswoman Pressley. It is important to be intentional about building equity, just as we were once intentional in discrimination.
“The transformation of 25 Sixth St. in Chelsea is a showcase for the missionoriented work of The Neighborhood Developers, and for our state’s leadership in deploying federal pandemic relief to create stronger and more equitable communities,” said MassHousing executive director Chrystal Kornegay. “This development will create quality new homeownership opportunities and affordable rental housing, in close proximity to transit and jobs, and provide a platform for economic prosperity.”
NEI was retained by TND for the demolition of an existing building and the construction of a new five-level residential building with 56 rental units and six ownership units plus covered parking for 40 vehicles. The new building will be constructed to meet Passive House standards. Passive House significantly reduces
the carbon footprint while making a comfortable, healthy, and affordable environment. This is NEI’s eighth Passive House project in Massachusetts.
“We have a long-standing working relationship with NEI and knew they would be a great partner in bringing this project to life”
said Steve Laferriere, director of real estate at The Neighborhood Developers. “The Commonwealth Builder program is hopefully going to fuel the development of more transit-oriented affordable homeownership opportunities to serve communities of color like Chelsea across the state.”
The Mary D. Stone Apartments accomplishes two important goals.
It increases the affordable housing stock in Auburn, Massachusetts, by providing 55 homes for seniors, and it preserves a cherished building in the center of town.
To create the apartment community, developer Pennrose rehabilitated a nearly century-old school, preserving the main building while demolishing later additions and adding a new construction element to bring the property back to life.
Adjacent to the Town Hall, the school has been transformed into studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments for residents 62 and older, including four units for
individuals who are at risk of institutionalization. These homes allow residents at the brink of needing some assistance to stay independent for longer with certain support and accommodations that are built into the design. Forty-five affordable units serve seniors at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI), including a portion designated for residents at 30% of the AMI. Ten units are leased at market rates.
The Mary D. Stone Apartments has been selected the overall winner in Affordable Housing Finance’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Magazine and newsletter subscribers also voted the project as the best historic rehab development.
“The town of Auburn and their dedication, passion, and support for the redevelopment of the former Mary D. Stone School is what really made this special,” says Charlie Adams, regional vice president at Pennrose. “Many of our residents are former students, teachers, or staff of the school.”
The entire façade of the historic school was preserved, which included key elements such as the entryway and cupola on the roof. In addition, some of the most defining features are in the hallways and stairways. “We were able to retain in place
As seen in Affordable Housing
all of the historic classroom doors, keep ceiling heights high, and even keep some decal letters on the wall that read ‘Welcome Mary D. Stone School Office,’” Adams says.
“While the stairs now have new code compliant railings installed, the original wood railings have all been retained in place.”
Pennrose worked closely with architect DiMella Shaffer on the project.
“Designing a new construction addition that was compatible with the historic schoolhouse was our biggest challenge and greatest accomplishment with this deal,” Adams says. “Not only did the exterior have to be aesthetically compatible, but the interiors also had to flow seamlessly from the historic to the new.”
Financing for the $21.5 million project was made possible by federal low-income housing tax credits and a significant amount of state resources, including state historic and housing tax credits and other sources of funds.
OWNER: Pennrose
ARCHITECTS: DiMella Shaffer
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Crowley Cottrell, LLC
NEI PROJECT TEAM: PX: Antonio Tenreiro. PM: Marco Delvecchio. PM: Joe Cavallaro. GENERAL SUPT: Bill Young. SUPT: Vinnie Barboza. FIELD ENGINEER: Jack Toce. COMPLIANCE: Jordan Pomare. RISK: Patti Roche.
ENGINEERING: MEP/FP: DTC. CIVIL: Nitsch Engineering. STRUCTURAL: L.A. Fuess Partners
WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM: CREA; Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development; MassHousing; Community Economic Development Assistance Corp.; Massachusetts Housing Partnership; Citizens Bank; Dorfman Capital; BlueHub Capital
