CPA Funding Approved for New Curley School Playground, Jackson Square Greenway, Churches, and More

Community Preservation Act funds will be used to build a new school playground, support new affordable housing, and historically rehab several churches,

Mayor Michelle announced 56 projects will receive more than $40 million through CPA funds. The Boston City Council approved the funding on April 12. By law, projects must support the creation or preservation of affordable housing, historic sites, or open space and recreation. Since 2018, Boston has awarded more than $157 million to support 293 projects including 112 open space and recreation projects, 46 affordable housing projects, and 135 historic preservation projects, according to a press release. The following are the eight Jamaica Plain projects that are receiving funding:

361 Centre Street

$3,000,000 to partially fund an​ ​adaptive reuse rental proj​ect utilizing the vacant Blessed Sacrament Church in the Hyde Square neighborhood.

1,492 Views

Three Jamaica Plain Projects Receiving Funding for Income-Restricted Units

Mayor Michelle Wu joined the Hyde Square Task Force in Jamaica Plain at the site of the former Blessed Sacrament Church to announce $67 million in new recommended funding to create and preserve more than 800 income-restricted units of housing in eight Boston neighborhoods. Three of the 17 projects selected to receive funding are located in Jamaica Plain. All of the proposed projects meet the city's standards for zero-emissions buildings and represent transit-oriented, green development. The three JP projects include:

Pennrose Development and the Hyde Square Task Force will redevelop the former Blessed Sacrament Church with $6,250,000 in funding. The development team will create 55 mixed-income units of rental housing and a new performance space for the Hyde Square Task Force Creative Arts Program.

1,451 Views

Developer Pitches 55 Apartments in Renovation of Blessed Sacrament

The development company chosen to renovate and reuse Blessed Sacrament filed a letter of intent with the city outlining its proposed project. Hyde Square Task Force announced it was selling the Blessed Sacrament Church to Pennrose in October. Pennrose's proposal is for a mixed-use, mixed-income housing development in which Pennrose will honor Blessed Sacrament's architecture and history while adding more affordable housing to the neighborhood. The proposal calls for 6,475 sq. ft of multipurpose/performance space that would be operated by Hyde Square Task Force.

2,021 Views

Blessed Sacrament Meeting on Aug. 15; Landmarks Commission Says Blessed Sacrament Merits Landmark Status

On the heals of the Boston Landmarks Commission recently released report stating that the Blessed Sacrament Church Complex merits landmark status, there will be a community meeting to provide an update about the plans for preservation and redevelopment of the church. The community meeting will be led by the Hyde Square Task Force and Pennrose, which develops and manages real estate, on August 15 at 6:30 pm at Hyde Square Task Force (30 Sunnyside St.).  The meeting will be in English with Spanish translation, and refreshments will be provided. The Landmarks Commission said the five-building Blessed Sacrament Church Complex merits recognition as a landmark at the regional, state, and local level. "The complex is a physical representation of the social and cultural history and significance of the Catholic Church in Boston around the turn of the last century and in the early 20th century," says the Commission's report. Architectural historian Keith Morgan said the Church of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance Revival church architecture in New England.

2,218 Views

Hyde Square Task Force to Sell Blessed Sacrament to Developer for Income-Restricted Units, Community Space

The Hyde Square Task Force has chosen developer Pennrose to sell the Blessed Sacrament Church, which will turn it into affordable housing, community space, and more. A letter signed by HSTF Executive Director Celina Miranda and Board leadership was sent to local stakeholders, elected officials, and community leaders that outlined some of the benefits Pennrose is committed to providing. “We recognize that this is the beginning of a partnership with Pennrose,” said Miranda. “The HSTF Board believes that Pennrose has the highest likelihood of a great outcome for the community and for our organization.”

Pennrose proposed income-restricted housing with at a minimum:
● <30% AMI: 8 units (15%)
● <50% AMI: 8 units (15%)
● <60% AMI: 16 units (30%)
● <120% AMI: 20 units (40%)

Pennrose has also committed to providing community space for 200+ people in which the HSTF would remain the operator of this space for the long term. Pennrose has also committed to outdoor community space in front, converting the baptistery to an open-air performance gazebo, and to respecting the existing outdoor green space to the west of the church, said the letter.

1,934 Views

Opinion: Saving or Sacrificing a Grande Dame

The magnificence, dignity, vastness, and pitch-perfect acoustics of an abandoned church in one of Boston's oldest neighborhoods -- so close to downtown -- it proportionately kisses either cheek of Boston’s Kenmore Square and the South End. The former Blessed Sacrament Church’s basilica towers over the Latin Quarter neighborhood, domiciles and businesses of Jamaica Plain; even from a considerable distance, you cannot miss it. But now this grande dame has sat patiently for 22 years, anticipating her next incarnation. No longer a church, will she be converted into posh condos in a modest end of town, a school, luxury or affordable housing, all rolled-up in an assemblage of tasteless architecture, or will she end up a fatality in a rubble of bricks, peeling frescos, and crumbling marble? As is, the bones of the building create a perfect venue for art exhibits, assemblies, performing arts and live theatre, choirs, orchestral groups, even weddings or conventions.

2,829 Views

Proposals for Future of Blessed Sacrament Church Being Shared Starting Sept. 18

Three proposals for the shuttered Blessed Sacrament Church will be shared with the community virtually and in-person starting Sept. 18. Back in May 2020, Hyde Square Task Force's (HSTF) board of directors voted to sell the church as redevelopment and ongoing maintenance were too expensive, and took away from HSTF's mission of supporting enrichment programs for Boston's youth. HSWTF hired Colliers/Cushman and Wakefield to help move the sale of the property forward to a developer that will do something with the property that benefits the community. "As a long-standing nonprofit, deeply rooted in Jamaica Plain, we understand the concerns expressed by members of our community and have worked to address those within the top finalists among the bidders, acknowledging that there could be some community members that might not be satisfied with the options before us.

2,652 Views

Letter: To Hyde Square Task Force About Community Process for Sale of Church

The following is a letter sent to the Hyde Square Task Force from the Friends of the Blessed Sacrament Church requesting an open, transparent community process during the selection of a developer for the church. We were pleased to hear that the Hyde Square Task Force (HSTF) has received several formal offers to purchase the Blessed Sacrament Church building, and that there is interest in the property beyond condo developers. We are also encouraged by recent statements that HSTF will prioritize a buyer that appreciates the significance of the church building to the Boston Latin Quarter and that HSTF will be considering community benefit as well as financial benefit and make sure any future buyer listens to the voices and concerns of the Latin Quarter community. As you consider proposals to develop the church, Friends of Blessed Sacrament requests that HSTF create a process where the community gets a chance to meet potential developers and give input and feedback before HSTF makes a final decision. Specifically, we request that before taking a board vote to select a developer, the HSTF hold one or more public meetings where the community can hear from potential developers and give their feedback and comments.

2,237 Views

Hyde Square Task Force Declares Sale of Blessed Sacrament Church Will Benefit Community

The Hyde Square Task Force announced that the sale of the Blessed Sacrament Church will eventually be sold to a developer that will do something with the property that benefits the community. The Hyde Square Task Force Board of Directors emailed an update in English and Spanish to provide an update to the community. The board reiterated that they decided to sell the old church after six years of exploring ways to turn it into a community space. But they ultimately decided they didn't want to do a multi-million dollar campaign to transform the church. After announcing they would sell the property, many community members were frustrated that a community space was not being created, and that HSTF would sell the property to a developer.

3,027 Views

No One Injured After Stones Fall Off Blessed Sacrament Church

For two days in a row the Boston Fire Department visited the Blessed Sacrament Church to attend to falling stones from the building. On Nov. 24, the Boston Fire Department tweeted that, "Some of the beautiful coping stones have show they're aging by falling to the steps below." No injuries were caused by the falling stones. The Blessed Sacrament Church is owned by Hyde Square Task Force, which purchased it in 2014 with the intent of redeveloping it into a community center.

2,211 Views