By Dan Murphy
Fenway CDC (Community Development Corporation) held its first of three planned Town Hall meetings to help guide the organization’s Strategic Plan for the next four years on Thursday, Jan. 30, at Simmons College.
Steven Farrell, executive director, first outlined the planned ‘Community Vision Conversations,’ which he described as a “10-month-long conversation” regarding future of the organization, during his first keynote address at the Fenway CDC’s 51st annual meeting on April 25, also at Simmons College.
Last week’s first Town Hall meeting drew 62 attendees to the same space, and one “unintended” but encouraging outcome of this event was that new relationships were forged between longtime members of the Fenway CDC community and newcomers to the organization, according to Farrell, who assumed the reins of Fenway CDC last March.
“There were a lor of noted [collected],” Farrell told this reporter following the meeting. “It was a very engaged group of community members that really bought into the community part of the conversation. They were enthusiastic about the process, looking forward to what happened next.”
The next Town Hall meeting is scheduled take place in May in tandem with the Fenway CDC’s annual meeting. A draft of the Strategic Plan, which will include community input from the first Town Hall meeting, will be released at that time.
A third and final Town Hall meeting would then follow sometime this summer, said Farrell, at which time the final Strategic Plan will be unveiled.
Along with developing the Strategic Plan, Fenway CDC also intends to create new branding that “better aligns” with the organization’s core mission, which would likely include a new logo, added Farrell.
Meanwhile, Fenway CDC was selected to redevelop two adjacent properties at 27-29 Hancock St. on Beacon Hill into 15 affordable homeownership units, following a lengthy process involving extensive community input and collaboration with city and state officials
(JDMD, which developed The Archer Residences – a luxury condo building on Temple Street – purchased 27-29 Hancock St. in 2018, with plans to gift the building to another developer for the creation of off-site affordable housing units to satisfy its IDP [Inclusionary Development Policy] with the city for the Archer project.)
“This is an example of extending Fenway CDC’s commitment to and expertise developing affordable housing opportunities to another neighborhood,” Farrell told this reporter. “Beacon Hill is a desirable place for families and individuals because of its history and vibrancy.” For more information on Fenway CDC, including on upcoming Town Hall meetings, visit fenwaycdc.org.