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UMASS/AMHERST * aiEDbb DE70 3Sbfl 1 r*j»^ WWW T^3? /A [Mj^1KS|| 1^ V ^ % -4^ «»v 1'^ V TWENTIETH ht !.AL^f Si, r-.'g\r im J^^j ^^»^ .^ iL^ IqE T Contents Letter from the Chairperson AND THE Executive Director Introduction ] Southwest Corridor ...... j Development of Affordable Housing Preservation of Federally-Assisted Housing Supported Housing Child Care Board OF Directors and Staff LETTER FROM THE i CHAIRPERSON AND THE 1 ^^K' EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 1 r ( ym /ty% 1978, the Commonwealth ofMassachusetts 1 1/ I §/ created CEDAC to serve as a vital resource for 'i -V fj the community-based, non-profit development industry. As we crossed our twentieth anniversary milestone last year, it seemed appropriate to use our annual report this year to CEDAC serve as a retrospective ofthe vision that drove 's creation, and as a celebration ofall thatwe have collectively accomplished overthose twentyyears. It is a pleasure to present this report in recognition of the crucial work the non-profit development industry does to house low- and moderate-income families and individuals, to provide a broad range ofsocial and economic services that support the efforts offamilies and individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency, and to rebuild communities throughout Massachusetts. It is a powerful testament to howmuch has been done; equallyimportant is howmuch more we have yet to do. li^'^ ^fvtJMj^_ Sarah B. Ifoung Michael Gondek Chairperson ExecutiveDirector CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT T R T O Z I /m /fyt 1974 the Commonwealth aborted its plans to build Interstate ^ 1/ I Highway 95 throughJamaica Plain, Roxbury, and the South End. Community activists envisioned that non-profit development groups could reverse the damage done to those neighborhoods by building housing, creating job opportunities and community facilities, and re-knitting the fabric ofthose communities. So twentyyears ago State Representative Mel King shepherded the legislation that created "We went to CEDAC with essentially dreams-with CEDAC through the Massachusetts Legislature, to provide the technical A FEW pieces of THOSE ACTUALLY TOUCHING THE assistance and financial support those non-profit developers would need. EARTH-AND we WERE ABLE TO GET ENOUGH MONEY TO The non-profit development industrywas then in its infancy Only GET TO THE NEXT STAGE. AND IT WASN'T JUST MONEY, a relative handful of such groups existed, and few ofthose had access to IT WAS THE ABILITY TO SAY THAT YOU HAVE THE MONEY financial and professional resources adequate to tackle real estate FROM A STATE ORGANIZATION, AND THE CONFIDENCE development projects ofany complexity. The vision ofa broad artay of THAT THEY SHOWED IN YOU, WHICH GAVE YOU THE non-profit developers controlling substantial real estate assets, enjoying CONFIDENCE TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP. political legitimacy, and managing a comprehensive set ofcommunity development activitieswas an extremely ambitious, ifnot rosy, one indeed. "When you are a CDC director, you are kind of on YOUR own: you don't have a lot of PEOPLE that you CAN TALK to, SHARE YOUR DEEPEST FEARS ABOUT RISK AND REWARD AND SO ON. TO HAVE THAT KIND OF ALLY- THAT KIND OF SAFE PLACE TO BOUNCE IDEAS AND PROPOSALS OFF OF-IT'S INVALUABLE." Bill Traynor, Neighborhood Partners, and former executive director, Coalition for a Better Acre, Lowell •CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT 2 •r^ / \ •^ decades laterthat vision has been \^ *^ %0y^y realized to a very substantial degree. Community-based development organizations are universally recognized as one ofthe driving forces in the transformation ofurban neighborhoods whichwere written A offtwentyyears ago. wide spectrum ofresources, ranging from private investment capital to dedicated pubUc funding programs, has emerged to finance the non-profit development world's real estate activity. An entire industry ofintermediarysupportinstitutionshas evolvedto bolsterthis industry's work. And pubHc officials laud the entrepreneurial spirit ofnon-profit developers. CEDAC is proud to have played a keyrole in this national success story. For twentyyears we have promoted — non-profit community development by fashioning useful financial tools, advocating for responsive public poHcy, and Auburn Court, Cambridge shaping program design and implementation. Our success has been due in large part to the enormous dedication of formermembers ofthe staff and board ofdirectors of CEDAC, who have contributed immeasurably to our success over these two decades. In particular, we want to CEDAC recognize CarlA. Sussman, 's founding director, who led the agency for its first fifteen years. And ofcourse we salute our non-profit partners forwhose leading roles T we are, in the final analysis, supporting actors. CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT We WERE GOING TO SEE TO IT THAT THE LAND THAT WAS TAKEN BY THE STATE WAS DEVELOPED. AS WE GOT INTO IT, IT BECAME APPARENT THAT SOMETHING MUCH BROADER NEEDED TO BE DONE A NUMBER OF PROGRAMS WERE PUT TOGETHER DURING THAT TIME WHICH SUPPORTED MANY OF THE CDCS, AND IT JUST EXPLODED OVER A TEN YEAR PERIOD AS A RESULT OF THESE EFFORTS. For me, the WHOLE IDEA WAS TO DEVELOP THAT KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES." Tent City, South End Mel King, community activist and former State Representative CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT J- A/*% x-j genesis ofCEDAC lies in 1/1%/ ^y the Southwest Corridor: the swath ofland through Boston's South End, Roxbury, andJamaica Plain neighborhoods which had been cleared in preparation for the construction ofan extension ofHighway 95. Community activists pressed the Commonwealth to reverse its policy ofhighway expansion, and substitute the upgrading ofmass trans- portation mechanisms instead. Their goals achieved on that front, the communities turned their focus to the question ofhow to re-build the neighborhoods torn apart by the land clearance. Sumner Hill House, Jamaica Plain CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT #5 non profit, community-based development organizations already existed then, and some had by the mid-1970s already shown the ability to amass the political and financial resources needed to build and rehabilitate substantial amounts oflow-income housing. But those neighborhoods advocated for the creation ofan infrastructure at the state level that would provide financing and technical assistance for non-profit developers across the Commonwealth. By 1978 CEDAC came into existence as a part ofthat infrastructure, whichwould 2 VIEWS OF strike poHcy makers across the country as the most dramatic commitment Langham Court South End by any state to community-based development as a critical tool for rebuilding communities adversely affected by poverty and blight. •CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT 6 Stony Brook Gardens Cooperative ym /a/^ the interveningtwo decades, the Commonwealth, Apartments, Jamaica Plain ^ [ 1/ the city ofBoston, the neighborhoods, their leaders, their institutions, and non-profit community developers have collectively transformed the Southwest Corridor. All along the Corridor, from its origin nearest downtown to its terminus inJamaica Plain, the development ofnew housing, commercial space, park land, and educational and institutional facilities have re-knit the fabric ofthose communities. Conspicuous, keyparcels yet remain to be addressed, but an enormous amount ofwhatwas dreamed twentyyears ago is reality today. CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT "When we first came into existence we were looking for technical assistance and an advisor that had experience in housing. buildings were being sold and residents were concerned about their future, cedac said they could help residents develop THEIR OWN PLAN TO CONTROL THE FUTURE OF CaMFIELD. They guided us through a very complicated PROCESS. They help you learn through experience, 1 RATHER THAN DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU. THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO THE RESIDENTS AND THE ASSOCIATION. . CEDAC WAS THE ONLY GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY SAID 'we'll walk you THROUGH THE PROCESS AND WHEN ALL OF THAT IS DONE, WE'LL STILL BE THERE AS A RESOURCE.'" Pauiette Ford, Camfield Tenants' Association ^y^ manymonuments existto the determination and dreams oftwo decades ago: Tent Camfield Gardens, Roxbury %J v-X City, the exemplary mixed-income housing that rose from vocal protest on a parkinglot. The complete makeover ofCamfield Gardens, Roxse Homes, and Grant Manor, distressed federally-assisted housing in need ofa massive infusion ofcapital to provide decent housing. Langham Court, the beneficiary ofthe bold thrust by the city ofBoston to direct the benefits ofits downtown commercialboom to build housingin the neighborhoods. Madison ParkVillage, a modelinner-city communityofferinghousing for the elderly, families seeking rental and ownership options, and radically made-over pubHc housing. 8© CEDAC TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY REPORT