A team led by IBA's (Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción) CEO Vanessa Calderón-Rosado presented plans and answered questions for about 40 residents on Thursday, February 4 at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, 85 West Newton Street, about the redevelopment of 146 residential units, mostly on West Newton Street, by IBA in collaboration with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA). Kate Bennett, BHA's chief of planning, development and capital construction; project manager Nina Schwarzschild; Clifford Boehmer, principal of Davis Square Architects; IBA chief operating officer Mayra Negrón-Rivera and Lynn Delidow, vice president of Villa Victoria's management company, Maloney Properties, also addressed the audience of about 40 residents.

"We have a very strong proposal that will not only make the quality of the buildings better with exterior and interior renovations that maintain the beautiful character of the building stock but improve the quality of life of the residents. We also feel that we can help integrate that part of the neighborhood with the work that we do at IBA and Villa Victoria," Calderón-Rosado said.

Calderón-Rosado gave a brief history of Villa Victoria as a complex of affordable housing and social services with a portfolio of 521 units, mostly located in the South End with a few properties in Lower Roxbury and Mattapan and an overview of the proposed redevelopment on West Newton Street.

Calderón-Rosado said, "IBA has a very holistic approach to community development that goes beyond just providing housing," characterizing this collaboration with BHA as a homecoming of sorts, referring to IBA's partnership with BHA in the development of Villa Victoria's apartment towers on West Dedham Street and the properties on West Newton Street in the 1980s and 1990s. Calderón-Rosado alluded to the area's problems with violence but expressed optimism that this project will improve the environment. "We feel that this is a great way to provide some level of stability on the street. As we all know, this part of the neighborhood has a tendency for some public safety issues. I think the approach we will be taking in renovating and working with residents will help to ease that tension. Our residents in Villa Victoria want the same things that we all want: a safe place to live where they can walk and their children can play and we believe that the plan we have to renovate will help to achieve that goal," she said.

Architect Boehmer cited his previous work on more than 100 properties in the South End and acknowledged residents' concerns for the preservation of the neighborhood's historic character. "The good news is, the project will be largely funded with historic tax credits, so in addition to the rigorous standards upheld by the South End Landmark District Commission (SELDC), all of our renovations have to meet the standards of the Mass. Historical Commission and the National Park Service, which administers the federal historic tax credit. From the building envelope perspective, we are doing a lot of restoration." In addition to masonry, repainting and restoration of historic details, the project will modernize the climate control systems, replacing insulation and existing electric heat with a modern heating and cooling system that will obviate the need for window units. Boehmer added that existing, storefront-style metal and glass entrances will be replaced with traditional wooden doors; trees will be pruned; steps and railings will be improved and down spouts and windows will be replaced in compliance with historical guidelines. Interior improvements will include new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and fire safety systems. Boehmer observed that at a cost of approximately $130,000 per unit, the project must comply with state and federal accessibility code which will also require historically compliant solutions. "It's an ambitious program, and you will really see a difference in the outside of the buildings," Boehmer said.

In answer to a resident's question, Boehmer said he anticipates "an integrated approach" to building security that has not yet been designed. He added that the properties included in the redevelopment currently comprise 146 units and that number will remain the same, with 44 studios and 58 onebedroom units.

Schwarzschild noted that a few exceptions may occur where an empty unit must be converted to an accessible family unit in order to meet accessibility standards. Calderón-Rosado chimed in that the project is still in the early planning stage and the next step is to secure financing. She projected that closing will occur in the fall of 2016 and that renovations will commence in early 2017 with an expected two-year time frame for completion.

A neighbor asked whether the project includes plans for changing the brick sidewalk, to which Boehmer responded that since they are public property, any sidewalks that are disrupted in the renovation will have to be restored with brick. South End Forum chairman Steve Fox followed with questions about disability-accessible sidewalks and entrances. Fox asked whether the planners would be willing to participate in a "pilot block" plan to test an accessible sidewalk model. Boehmer called Fox's proposal "a great idea".

On the trickier issue of creating accessible building entrances, Boehmer cited earlier work with Tenant Development Corporation properties that could accommodate accessible entrances under the front steps, but said this probably will not be feasible on West Newton Street because the entrances are not high enough. Boehmer said that it was more likely that accessible entrances would be put in the back but the matter needs more study.

Eric Huang, president of the Blackstone/Franklin Square Neighborhood Association, noted that there are existing affordable housing developments located in historic rowhouses around the South End that look indistinguishable from the outside from market-rate buildings, and asked whether these homes will be as beautiful when they are finished, to which Boehmer replied, "Even better!"

Rutland Street resident Richard Shibley inquired about the impact of construction on West Newton Street and West Haven Street, where some Rutland Street residents park and put out their garbage. Boehmer said there may be street cuts for water lines where sprinklers are not available. He conceded that it is "tough" to work in the South End without impacting neighbors, and that there will likely be a procedure for residents to call the developer with questions and complaints. Shibley also wondered whether the transfer of BHA housing in this project signals BHA withdrawal from providing housing. Bennett replied that BHA still owns 12,000 units around the city and will retain a ground lease on its properties in this project to ensure that it will not be converted to any other use except affordable housing. Shibley also expressed concern about sound impact from air conditioning compressors. Boehmer said the compressors would be on the roof or in back of the buildings to meet historic requirements and that the sound issue will be studied in planning.

A longtime resident asked about the use of solar panels to power lighting and both Boehmer and Bennett lauded the idea. Bennett pointed out that BHA has used solar panels in other developments, but that funding from the state has decreased in recent years. Boehmer pointed out that solar panels cannot be visible from the street for historic reasons, but could work well on the rooftops.

In addition to the practical and logistical issues raised at the meeting, the South End's socioeconomic divide was evident. One neighbor asked whether the project, as affordable housing with rent tied to income, will require proof of employment and another gentleman asked whether the new development will be "true affordable housing or what I call 'technical' affordable housing." Bennett explained that now and in the future, residents pay 30 per cent of their income in rent.

Another man asked if proof of employment is required, and Bennett said, "No. Some people are on disability or have other forms of income. Occasionally there is someone with zero income, but typically, our residents are working." Jewel Cash, who moved to Villa Victoria in 1976 as an undergraduate student and later attained a master's degree, said that Villa Victoria residents and affordable housing denizens should not be pigeonholed as poor, lazy, uneducated or unmotivated. Cash said she moved to Villa Victoria because she wanted her daughter, Jewel Cash, Jr., to grow up in that community. Cash invited neighbors outside Villa Victoria to "get to know us."

A Pilot Block Neighborhood Association (PBNA) member asked about public safety relative to West Newton Street and O'Day Park. Calderón-Rosado explained that IBA subcontracts with Longwood Security for coverage around Villa Victoria and is in talks with the Boston Parks and Recreation Department to provide maintenance and security for O'Day Park. She added that IBA is currently applying for funding from a program called Artspace with the goal of using art "as a way to build place. We want to make the park not only safer but also inviting to everyone in the neighborhood."

On the recent spate of shootings in the South End, Calderón-Rosado said, "Unfortunately, recently we have experienced violence in the neighborhood." She continued, "I live in the South End but I don't sleep in the South End. I spend so much time here and when I walk back to my car to go home I want to feel safe, you want to feel safe and our residents want to feel safe. We continue to work with police, our property management company and our security company to make things better for all of us."

Calderón-Rosado emphasized that the February 4 meeting was the first in a series of public meetings with neighbors to discuss the West Newton Street redevelopment proposal. The dates of future meetings have not yet been announced.