Mayor Domenic J Sarno, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity and Springfield Rebuilding Together to kick off Quincy Street Revitalization
May 06, 2011 at 5:09 PM
Who
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno Jennifer Schimmel, Executive Director, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity Colleen Loveless, Executive Director, Springfield Rebuilding Together Peter Gagliardi, Executive Director, HAPHousing Ethel Griffin, President, Old Hill Neighborhood Council Charles Rucks, Executive Director, SNHS
What
City leads public-private partnership to revitalize Quincy Street
When
Monday, May 9, 2011 at 2:30 p.m.
Where
Corner of Quincy & Oak Streets, Springfield, MA
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, along with the Executive Directors of Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, Springfield Rebuilding Together, HAP Housing, Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services, and the President of the Old Hill Neighborhood Council, will hold a press conference on Monday, May 9, 2011, at 2:30 p.m., at the corner of Quincy and Oak Streets, Springfield, MA to kick off a public-private partnership to revitalize Quincy Street, in the heart of the Old Hill neighborhood.
Background
On Monday, May 9, 2011, at 2:30 p.m., the City of Springfield will kick-off a collaborative initiative to revitalize Quincy Street, in the heart of Springfield’s Old Hill neighborhood.
During the week of May 9, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity will undertake a ‘blitz build’ using volunteer labor to frame a two-family house, a construction project that will result in two new homeownership units on Quincy Street. During the same week, Springfield Rebuilding Together will work with two homeowners on Quincy Street, using volunteer labor to paint their homes and clean their yards. Rebuilding Together will also clear trash and overgrowth from vacant lots along Quincy Street.
These projects are part of a larger effort to revitalize this street and the Old Hill neighborhood. Throughout 2011, multiple non-profits are working together to build six new homes on Quincy Street, and rehabilitate two existing homes, all of which will be sold to households that will be owner-occupants. As part of this effort, the City is also demolishing three blighted homes, and seeking to sell five non-buildable vacant lots to abutters who will use the lots as side yards and commit to maintaining them. These projects are being carried out in connection with a campaign of aggressive code enforcement, which has forced existing owners on Quincy Street to demolish or rehabilitate properties themselves or risk the City seeking court orders to demolish or force into receivership. The City’s code enforcement and legal efforts have led to the privately-funded demolition of one house, and rehabilitation or correction of code violations in eight others.
In total, the combined efforts of the multiple partners in this initiative will impact twenty-six properties, or almost a third of properties on the street. It will increase the street’s homeownership rate from 21% to 30%.
The City has concentrated revitalization efforts on Quincy Street because it is among the streets in the City that have been most impacted by foreclosure and abandonment, and because it is in a key location. The street is parallel to the State Street corridor, which has been the focus of intensive revitalization over the last few years, and it lies within the triangle formed by Springfield College, American International College and the Springfield Technical Community College. By acting aggressively to improve Quincy Street, the City seeks increase home values and stop home abandonment throughout the surrounding Old Hill neighborhood.
Partners in this revitalization effort include: the Old Hill Neighborhood Council, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, Springfield Rebuilding Together, Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services, HAP Housing, Mass Mutual, Springfield College, and the Massachusetts Housing and Investment Corp. Federal funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Geraldine McCafferty
Housing Director Officer of Housing GM
ccafferty@springfieldcityhall.com
Tel: (413) 787-6500
Jennifer Schimmel
Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity Executive Director
