On Friday, November 15, MACDC hosted its Annual Meeting and Conference at Clark University.  The day was a great success with well over 200 of our members, friends and supporters coming together to share ideas, network, reconnect and celebrate. 

• Learn about our 2013 Award Recipients
• Check out the winners of MACDC’s Photo Contest
• Go to our Facebook page to see many photos from the day.
• Thank you to our many generous sponsors
• See our newly elected Board of Directors
• Learn more about the day’s agenda

To receive materials and PowerPoints from the day email John Fitterer at johnf@macdc.org.

This year, MACDC held a photo contest open to all of it members.  The goal was to try and capture a visual representation of the work we do as a field. This year, MACDC staff chose five categories in which our members could submit and enter their images.  We received numerous entries and the decision making process was not easy. These images are not only fanastic visual representations of our field's work, but are also wonderful photographs of the amazing people and neighborhoods that make up the communities in which we live and work.

Before and After

Description: Before and after pictures of any physical space improvement project.

Winner: HAPHousing
Built in 1901, this Victorian home fell into disrepair. HAPHousing was able to acquire it from the city, renovate it and sell as an affordable property.

Building Communities

Description: Pictures of community meetings/group activities, such as gardening, street clean ups, demonstrations, etc.

Winner: Nuestra CDC
The photo is of a dance-off at the May 18, 2013 Mural Fest that took place at Bartlett Yard, the future site of Nuestra Comunidad's Bartlett Place. Bartlett Events was designated by the Boston Art Commission as an official temporary public art destination for Summer 2013.

Bartlett Place is an innovative urban mixed-use development that will create a brand new neighborhood bridging Roxbury's bustling Dudley Square and the adjoining historic Fort Hill community. On a site that today is an urban wasteland, the new Bartlett Place will create a vibrant, sustainable mixed-income community.

Photo credit: Jeremy Alliger, of Alliger Arts, a partner in the Bartlett Events initiative

Community Leaders & Entrepreneurs

Description: Photos of leaders or entrepreneurs in the community

Winner: Somerville CC
This photo was taken by Chinh Bui during the graduation of this year's Leadership Development Institute (LDI) hosted by SCC in April 2013. The photo shows both SCC staff and graduates of the program. Now in its seventh year, LDI has evolved to include an established core curriculum and several supplementary workshops geared to develop strong leaders in our community. We are excited to bring together another group of leaders and give them the skills to make change in Somerville and beyond.

Individuals and Families

Description: Photos of individuals and families working with CDCs

Winner: Community Development Partnership
The man in this picture is a farmer who owns Nestwood Farms, a two acre farm in Truro, MA. He sells his produce at the local Farmers Market in Wellfleet. Businesses we've worked with through our Micro Loan and Technical Assistance Programs participate at this Farmer's Market.

Because of Your Agency

Description: Pictures of a project that defines a CDC's impact

Winner: The Neighborhood Developers
Highland Terrace is located in a former industrial district that has become the city's newest mixed-income neighborhood. Once the site of a brass manufacturer and a dairy, the 53,000 square foot parcel was an eyesore in the heart of this transitioning residential neighborhood. As part of a community planning process in partnership with the City of Chelsea and neighborhood residents, Highland Terrace and the abutting Box District Park were conceived as more compatible uses for the neighborhood. Altogether, the 260 new homes in the Box District have created 384 construction jobs, and the new residents of the neighborhood are supporting an estimated 128 local jobs.

MACDC members,

Here it is!  The first ever NOFA for the Community Investment Tax Credit.

Please note that DHCD will be holding an informational session at our annual meeting in Worcester on Friday, November 15.  If you have not yet registered please do so on our website.

PS - If you are not yet a DHCD-certified CDC you still have time. DHCD has generously given you until December 10 to submit your certification application.

PPS - Don't forget to check out MACDC's CITC resources.

Housing Corporation of Arlington's Capitol Square Apartments received an honorable mention as a Historic Tax Credit Development that Best Demonstrates Financial Innovation from Novogradac. The Historic Rehabilitation Awards were created to commemorate outstanding achievement in the rehabilitation of developments using the historic tax credit. The Awards highlight projects that exemplify financial innovation, major community impact, and success in overcoming challenges.

The acquisition and redevelopment of the buildings required a combination of funding sources and included a large number of public and private financing partners. Having undergone renovations costing $10.7 million, Capitol Square Apartments now provides housing to 32 low-income families and individuals.

The North Shore Community Development Coalition (CDC) invests in neighborhoods to create thriving communities.  The organization was founded in 2011 as a collaborative effort between two community-based organizations in Beverly and Salem.  After 30+ years of dedication to the Salem community, North Shore CDC redoubled its commitment to improve the quality of life for low-income people in Salem.  In addition to affordable housing and commercial real estate development and preservation, North Shore CDC has long had a commitment to community and civic engagement, leadership development and various neighborhood-based programs.  In Salem, we operate a free English-as-a-Second-Language program serving primarily new immigrants, a low-cost homeownership training program for first-time homebuyers and our Family Stability program, an effort to connect low-income people to existing services and education programs to advance their economic self-sufficiency.

In 2010, one of our first efforts as a newly-minted organization was to do a thorough community survey, particularly targeting the Point neighborhood in Salem.  We wanted our work to be guided by the needs and priorities of the community.  We heard loud and clear that the community wanted more opportunities for teenagers and young adults, and specifically for opportunities to connect young people with the skills they need to enter the workforce.  That summer, we ran a pilot program that hired local teenagers to work on neighborhood improvement projects.  That program was so well received that we looked to other models to expand our youth program year-round and to serve a greater number of young people.  This search quickly led us to YouthBuild.

YouthBuild-North Shore was affiliated with YouthBuild-USA, a national network of programs, in early 2013.  YouthBuild is a national model focused on workforce development and academic opportunity for low-income young people.  YouthBuild-North Shore empowers young adults in Salem with the competency and desire to transform their lives and improve their communities through education, employment and leadership development.

YouthBuild-North Shore is hosted by North Shore CDC and administered jointly as a partnership between North Shore CDC and the Salem Community Charter School (SCCS).  SCCS is a Horace-Mann Charter High School within Salem Public Schools that offers students who have previously struggled in traditional school settings to restart their quest for a high school diploma.  Together, we employ young people ages 16-24 enrolled in a diploma program at SCCS.  YouthBuild students are a remarkably talented and dedicated group of people:  all have made the choice to return to school after having dropped out of Salem High School, most come from low-income families and many struggle with mental and/or physical disabilities. 

Our YouthBuild crew works on affordable housing development and neighborhood revitalization projects and get paid for their work hours.  Mixed in with leadership development programming are courses on construction management, various technical certifications, job shadowing and supervised hands-on work in the form of a paid internship.  Over the past year, sample projects include:

• Renovation of an affordable housing unit in the Point neighborhood, vastly improving the quality of life for a low-income family
• Planning and execution of a trash barrel pilot program, working with local businesses and city officials to establish a trash removal program
• Gut-rehabilitation of an expanded YouthBuild program space and North Shore CDC office space on Lafayette Street in Salem

Critical to YouthBuild’s success are partnerships in our community which have embraced the program.  From a mentoring program with the Salem Rotary Club, to workforce training workshops with the North Shore Career Center, to service projects with Windover Construction and the Salem Garden Club, the support of the community has been truly remarkable, enriching the program and connecting YouthBuild students to the broader community.  We invite the Salem community to become involved in YouthBuild-North Shore by getting in touch with North Shore CDC.  Volunteers that know construction skills and are willing to teach a skill during class time at 2:15-3:15pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays or in the workshop on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2:30-5pm are particularly welcomed.

For more information on North Shore CDC or YouthBuild-North Shore, please visit us at www.northshorecdc.org.