In her May 12th newsletter, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced that the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will not include the former Hotel Indigo as part of its Temporary Emergency Assistance Family Housing due to the high cost of transforming the property. The property, owned by Mark Development, had been slated for demolition as part of the now-paused Riverside project.
Negotiations between Mark Development and DHCD first came to light in late March, with the enthusiastic support of Mayor Fuller. Robert Korff, founding of Mark Development, said he thought that repurposing the empty building — which had been gutted — as a temporary shelter for two years, “was the right thing to do.” Other communities have been creating temporary shelter accommodations to help the state meet the needs of its homeless population.
Damian Chaviano, a partner in Mark Development, has been the liaison in the discussions with DHCD and reporting to the members of the Auburndale/Lower Falls community. He had said he anticipated work on the building to take place over the summer, with an opening in late August or early fall.
On April 25th, Mark Development and Mayor Fuller, — along with Barney Heath Director of the Planning Department, Linda Walsh Newton Health Commissioner, Kathleen Smith, Interim Newton School Superintendent; Catholic Charities shelter service team, representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and DHCD Deputy Director Adam Schaffer and members of his team — held a Zoom meeting with residents of Newton Lower Falls and Auburndale as well as other interested community members. According to the emerging proposal, Mark Development would work with DHCD to renovate sixty-four of the 191 rooms in the former hotel: Fifty-nine would accommodate families and five would serve as administrative and other purposes. In addition, plans included a kitchen and common dining areas. DHCD would pay Catholic Charities to run all aspects of the shelter, including a wide range of support services. Catholic Charities presented an overview of its shelter-management procedures.
DESE would be responsible for funding a range of services including student transportation, clothing, and computer costs. In addition, DESE would pay the school district $18,000 per homeless student attending NPS. At the same time, it was likely that some of the children moving into the shelter would prefer to remain in their current schools or, in fact, be too young to attend school.
Some Newton residents worried that local schools would be overburdened by the additional students, particularly after the failure of the override. Some expressed concern about homeless people in the community. Most residents who spoke were supportive, however, and asked about ways they could help. Josephine McNeil, a longtime affordable-housing activist, wanted to know how DHCD planned to move families from the temporary two-year shelter into permanent housing. Ted Chapman, Project Manager of the Riverside Greenway Working Group – which is committed to establishing a system of recreational trails in the region — raised concerns about the lack of safe outdoor playgrounds and trails for children in the shelter. He asked if there would be transportation and supervision, and if local people could volunteer.
Responding to a resident’s concern about the cost of renovating the Hotel Indigo and whether there were better ways to allocate funds, DHCD Deputy Director Adam Schaffer acknowledged that his staff was still reviewing the project’s cost, but noted that the great need for housing and the limited options available. He expressed gratitude to Newton. Although the presenters spoke optimistically about their plans for the site, they repeated that Mark Development and DHCD had not yet signed a contract.
The City provided a detailed description of the proposed shelter, explaining the responsibilities and services to be overseen by Catholic Charities, DHCD and the City.
In its response to the end of negotiations for the temporary shelter, Mark Development said:
“Mark Development clearly recognizes the urgent need for affordable housing and saw an opportunity to help families in crisis bridge to permanent homes. We were united with the city, DHCD, and Catholic Charities in an all out effort to make this work. While we are disappointed the effort was determined not to be feasible, we remain committed to doing our part to increase housing supply.”
In thanking Newton residents who offered to help, Mayor Fuller said, “We support our State’s efforts to address this humanitarian and housing crisis and we continue to stand read to help families facing homelessness.” NewTV’s video of the April 25 meeting is available here.
