Read "Getting Beyond the Developer Fee" by Jake Blumgart and Miriam Axel-Lute

This article accurately portrays the state of the community development field . . .and it should worry those who are committed to resident-led community development.  A strong community development eco-system needs strong CDCs, as well as larger nonprofits, effective government agencies and other players. But we can’t sit passively and hope that strong CDCs survive. We need intentional policies to enable them to survive and thrive.  A few thoughts:

1. Over the past 20+ years there has been an intentional and dramatic investment in building the CDFI sector through certification, grants, technical assistance and access to capital. There has been nothing comparable for CDCs.  This needs to change.
2. Our housing finance system has become dominated by tax credits – LIHTC, NMTC, Historic.  More flexible and easier to use funds like HOME and CDBG have been slashed. These policy decisions have had significant impact not just on who develops housing but on what we develop.  Community scaled rental projects, homeownership projects and rehab programs have suffered at the expense of larger, more complicated deals.  In Massachusetts, over 80% of our flexible funding is used to fill funding gaps on tax credit deals, leaving almost nothing for other projects. This means our field is less able to meet the diverse housing needs of our diverse communities – and it has hurt smaller developers.  And contrary to conventional wisdom, these smaller projects are often cheaper on a per-unit basis than larger deals.
3. We need to structure real estate deals so that owners have the financial incentive to steward those properties over the long term and have access to stable cash flow, year over year.  This will help all of us move away from the boom/bust cycle of large developer fees once every several years.
4. Those who argue that smaller CDCs should focus on organizing, resident services, and other non-real estate activities, need to identify sustainable business models to support these activities. The reality is that there is no substitute for owning real estate, even though we have tried to find a partial solution with the Massachusetts Community Investment Tax Credit.

CDCs cannot do this work alone. But I cannot imagine an effective community development movement without CDCs.  We should not leave their survival to chance.

More and more research continues to confirm that walkable neighborhoods are better for the environment, the local economy and the health of a neighborhood’s residents. Yet, low income communities of color are often less walkable than others. Walkability is a health equity issue given that walkable neighborhoods have lower rate of chronic disease and given the alarming recent spike in pedestrian deaths in the region. Experts in urban planning, community development and public health are therefore coming together to recognize and promote the importance of walkability.

In Dorchester, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC) in partnership with the Talbot-Norfolk Triangle Neighbors United (TNTNU) was inspired to improve the walkability of their neighborhood from a survey of over a thousand residents in the Talbot-Norfolk area which revealed that residents’ main concerns with the neighborhood included health and environmental sustainability. They were particularly interested in incorporating more green space and opportunities for active transit (biking and walking) in the streets of the neighborhood, along with other environmental sustainability measures. CSNDC and TNTNU, therefore, decided to turn the neighborhood into the “Eco Innovation District,” with funding from the Barr foundation with the goal of promoting transit oriented development in the neighborhood and along the Fairmount Line.

“If you afford someone the opportunity to live in an open space, an open beautiful space, it improves their lives overall” said Tiffany Cogell, a healthy neighborhood champion of the Talbot-Norfolk triangle area. “I believe that low income people are just as deserving of a beautiful place to live as anyone else”

The neighborhood currently faces major safety issues. It is a common cut-through area for drivers who speed through the neighborhood to get to and from downtown Boston. As a result, multiple crashes and a bike death occurred in the area last year. In addition, a major street in the neighborhood, New England avenue, has absolutely no sidewalks. Residents are therefore limited in how they can move around in their neighborhood. As a result, while residents may take a short trip to the corner store by walking or biking, they are unlikely to make longer trips due to lack of walkability in the neighborhood.

“Getting people in the neighborhood out and walking makes them pay attention to the built environment” said Cogell. “People notice when children have to cross an unsafe street to go to school. We have allowed the city to forget our neighborhood by not paying attention.”

To address safety issues, CSNDC has worked with the Boston Transportation Department to designate a slow zone that will include more reduced speed signage, and speed bumps to slow drivers through the neighborhood. CSNDC has also gotten funding from the Boston Public Health Commission to hire residents as Healthy Community Champions, like Cogell. The Healthy Community Champions, mostly mothers from the neighborhood, have conducted a survey of 130 residents about health and mobility. They are now consolidating the findings and using them to inform future work in the neighborhood.

CSNDC also relies on the advocacy and technical assistance of organizations like WalkBoston and Liveable Streets who help them scope out projects and helped advocate on their behalf to the Department of Transportation. As Dave Queeley, Eco-Innovation Fellow at CSNDC has noted,

“it takes a village” to improve a neighborhood and create change.

To help communities around the state understand how to create their own “villages” to boost walkability, WalkBoston and the Mel King Institute teamed up earlier this year to host a workshop on “Promoting Walkability: Creating Safe and Active Neighborhoods.” The workshop, which took place in Codman Square included an overview of the benefits and possible infrastructural improvements to enhance walkability from WalkBoston, and case studies from projects around Boston including the Eco Innovation district along with the following projects:

• Mike Chavez an architect and Enterprise Rose Fellow with the Fairmount CDC Collaborative, spoke about the Collaborative’s efforts to promote affordable housing and smart design in the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park.
• Marah Holland, the Health Equity and Wellness Coordinator for Roxbury in Motion and the Madison Park Development Corporation shared stories of community-driven efforts to create Complete Streets in Roxbury that use built environment improvements that improve pedestrian conditions as critical tools to improve social equity, public safety and community health.

While WalkBoston and the Mel King Institute successfully concluded their workshop, the broader conversation on walkability and building more sustainable and equitable communities is by no means over.  

On Sunday July 31, the Massachusetts Legislature held its last formal meeting of the 2015 – 16 legislative session, and the House and Senate completed action on several major initiatives.  The most important legislation for MACDC and its members was the comprehensive economic development bill, which passed at around midnight.  MACDC has been working with our partners and allied representatives and senators to advance many important policy priorities in this bill, and we are pleased to report that nearly all of our requests and recommendations were included in the final Conference Agreement that was sent to Governor Baker’s desk.  We have been in regular contact with Administration officials at each stage of the legislation’s development and eagerly await Governor Baker’s final signature, so that we can pursue the next objectives, which will be to help design and implement several of these important new initiatives.  We are very pleased with the legislative outcome for MACDC’s priority interests in the 2015 – 2016 legislative session and grateful to all of our CDC members who have helped us to advance our two-year advocacy and policy agenda.

Highlights:  An Act Relative to Job Creation, Workforce Development and Infrastructure Investment (H4569) includes definitive language to advance three core MACDC priorities: (1) to improve the administration of the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program, (2) to provide a $45 million capital authorization for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, and (3) to provide $6 million of capital for the Massachusetts Food Trust. 

The Conferees retained a House adopted amendment, sponsored by Speaker Pro-Tempore Patricia Haddad, to authorize $1 million in new capital funding for the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) to support a matching grant program for CDFIs and CDCs.

The Conferees adopted a Senate-backed amendment to create a Donation Tax Credit (DTC) to allow existing State Low Income Housing Credits to support more housing preservation (prime sponsors include:  Senator Chandler, Senator Dorcena Forry, Representative Honan, Representative Rushing, and Representative Kaufman), and Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) provisions (sponsored by Senator Wolf), which will enable collaborative public-private-nonprofit partnerships to implement local initiatives and to enhance community revitalization.  In addition to the legislators referenced above, MACDC is thankful and grateful to Representative Peake, Representative Kulik, Representative Wagner, Representative Dempsey, Representative Madaro, Representative Walsh, Representative Holmes, Representative Madden, Representative Carvalho, Representative Donahue, Representative Smola, Senator Donoghue, Senator O’Connor Ives, Senator DiDomenico, Senator Rodrigues, Senator L’Italien, Speaker DeLeo, and Senate President Rosenberg for their commitment to CDCs, our shared goals, and the opportunity to work collaboratively throughout the 189^th General Court.

Here is a brief comparison of key economic development priorities contained in the House and Senate bills and the final Conference Agreement (H.4569) approved by the Legislature Sunday night and sent to Governor Baker this morning.

An Act Relative to Job Creation, Workforce Development and Infrastructure Investment (H.4483) (S.2423)

Community organizing changes lives, as individuals and for communities. It gives voice to those that have been marginalized. Like many of our members, my first encounter with Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) staff was as a client desperately seeking help.

Following a medical crisis, I lost my income and began preparing myself to become homeless. I had lost all purpose in life beyond survival. My life had gone from coping to crisis. I spent a considerable amount of energy trying to contain the panic that threatens to overwhelm. Depression was a luxury I could not afford.

Yet, alone I felt helpless, small and vulnerable. I could flail about shouting about injustice giving voice to my anger, but this made me feel insignificant. I felt incapable of addressing the issues holding me victim. Embarrassed by my own impotence, I minimized contact with others, isolating myself.

Cynicism became a coping mechanism, rationalized as the “smart” choice. I internalized the self-anger that comes with injustice. I ask myself, “What did I do wrong?” Confronting the realization that my life had amounted to nothing, I had no purpose. 

Addressing Problems Together

From the point I walked through SCC’s doors, my life began to change. A decade later, my life has stability and purpose. But first, I had to let go of my pride, listen to others and trust. 

When staff suggested I participate in a Financial Literacy class, I thought it was a bad joke. I didn’t have any finances or a future. I did it anyway. During an exercise, I told the members of the class where, despite present circumstances, I would like to be in six months – teaching. The following class a woman handed me a phone number that lead to a part-time teaching job. Her action made me realize the importance of being part of a group. 

This happens everyday when people walk through the doors at SCC. Together, we can solve our problems. 

This is why community organizing is vital to the mission of SCC.

SCC didn’t just put me “back on my feet.” SCC has provided the means to address the problem. As I began to feel secure and regain confidence, like many at SCC, my gratitude found expression in action. I felt less a victim, more the activist.

At first, it was all I could do to show up. Eventually, I could speak up – in meetings, then in public. Through the Leadership Development Institute, I learned about the political terrain in Somerville and what we could do to influence decisions made by city hall and the state. We discussed the systemic injustice affecting our lives and futures. In a society that has institutionalized the victimization of the many for the benefit of the few, individuals feel atomized, deprived of meaningful ties to others, which leaves you weak, vulnerable and easily disempowered.

From Hopelessness to Hope to Action

SCC’s community organizing program provides an understanding of people’s shared interest in systemic change. Organizers bring people together to identify their problems and craft solutions. Whether it’s through the trainings, or the committees, organizers provide the skills and tools needed to turn ideas into action.

Hopelessness and inaction are transformed into hope and action. Cynicism and atomization and give way to constructive social engagement. Together we have the power to change the systemic injustices that once held us victim. As we change our communities, we change ourselves.

I’m proud to be an active member of an organization that has succeeded in increasing affordable housing and providing jobs for local people, and addresses the issues confronting Somerville residents. And, I’m honored to be the president of SCC’s Board of Directors.

SCC’s community organizing is more than theoretical to me. It has been a lifesaving personal experience.

We are very happy to announce that Tahsin Razzak, a resident of JAS's 402 Rindge apartment building, is the first place winner of this year's New England Affordable Housing Management Association (NEAHMA) Poster/Calendar Contest (grades 7-9). This year's theme was "Words that Heal - Stop Bullying, Spread Kindness." Bullying is intentional physical, verbal, or psychological tormenting. Some kids bully by shunning others and spreading rumors through social media. Tahsin's poster brilliantly presents a vision of words of inspiration and hope to fight this kind of harmful behavior. NEAHMA'S Board of Directors judged and voted on over 250 posters that were submitted regionally. 

With little more than two weeks remaining in the 2015 – 16 legislative session, Governor Baker and House and Senate leaders are trying to put the wraps on a half-dozen major initiatives.  The most important legislation for MACDC and its members will be completion of a comprehensive economic development bill.  The House and Senate have passed separate bills and must reconcile the differences that remain before July 31^st.  MACDC has been active, working with representatives and senators to advance several important policy priorities in each bill, and we will be working with friends and allies to achieve the best possible outcome from the House/Senate conference committee

Highlights:  Both versions of the economic development bill (H.4483, S.2423) contain definitive language to advance three core MACDC priorities: (1) to improve the administration of the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program, (2) to provide $45 million capital authorization for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, and (3) precise language to provide $6 Million capital for the Massachusetts Food Trust.  These three items will not be subject to negotiations in the conference committee. 

The House adopted an amendment to authorize $1 Million in new capital funding for the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) to support a matching grant program for CDFIs and CDCs.  The Senate bill does not include this measure.

The Senate bill includes an increase in the state EITC from 23% to 28%, a Donation Tax Credit (DTC) proposal to allow existing State Low Income Housing Credits to support more housing preservation, and Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) provisions – enabling collaborative public-private-nonprofit partnerships to implement local initiatives and to enhance community revitalization.  The House did not include these provisions.

Here is a brief comparison of key economic development priorities contained in the bills and that MACDC and its allies will work to achieve in the final weeks.

On May 21, 2015 Dorchester Bay and partners Boston Capital, Escazú Development, and Newmarket Community Partners were designated by the City of Boston as developer of a 2.7 acre parcel of land at 65 East Cottage Street, adjacent to the Uphams Corner station on the Fairmount/Indigo Line. The development team will build 80 residential rental units for low- and middle-income households; 9 condominium units for sale at rates that are affordable to middle-income households; and 20,000 square feet of light industrial space. This is an exciting project for Dorchester Bay. We are eager to transform this vacant parcel into high-quality affordable housing for our community, to bring new job opportunities to the neighborhood, and to provide a more direct link to the train station right next to the property. Read the article from the May 21, 2015, edition of The Dorchester Reporter about the award announcement.

View our complete project materials and visuals at our our page on the Co-Urbanize website.