Fairmount Apartments in Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood is in line for a $16 million renovation that would add cooling systems, accessibility upgrades, and community gardens to the long-standing public housing complex, according to WGBH.
Here's what to know
The Hyde Park public housing community dates to 1951 and has more than 200 units.
Boston officials announced on Oct. 14 that Fairmount Apartments will receive $16 million in upgrades.
The investment will support improvements to the buildings and site.
Boston Housing Authority administrator Kenzie Bok explained that the funding will come from multiple levels of government: $10 million from the state, $5 million from the city, and $1 million from the federal government.
Residents are set to get community gardens where they can grow some of their own food on-site, along with new cooling systems. Those cooling upgrades stand out in older housing developments that were not built for today's hotter conditions.
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It also includes green stormwater infrastructure, and the city says the plan will make 5% of the apartments fully accessible.
More background
Residents who spoke publicly about the property focused on the qualities they value most there, especially its diversity and its sense of safety.
To illustrate that history, resident Tasheia Bowens cited a newspaper from 1989. Another tenant gave it to her "just to show how diverse it was back then also," she told WGBH.
"We thought that was really amazing to have it all these years, just to show that even back then this community was well diverse," Bowens added.
Tenant Wendy Rosseau feels that those qualities shape everyday life at the property.
"This is the safest community I've been in for 15 years, and I know a lot of residents can agree," Rosseau remarked.
Residents say the affordable housing community already provides stability, and the project reinvests in that existing complex.
What's being done?
Rather than putting all of their attention on new housing, Boston leaders are also directing public money to a public housing property that has been in place since 1951.
The stormwater component is meant to help the property handle water more sustainably.
The city, state, and federal governments are pooling money for the work instead of relying on a single government.
"In order to be a home for everyone, we can't just be creating new. We have to really protect what we have," said Mayor Michelle Wu, framing the project as part of that preservation effort.
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