07.20.2020

In the Boston Globe: For affordable rental housing in Allston-Brighton, a waiting list of 17,000

Amid a housing crunch and a rental market upended by COVID-19, lengthy queues for affordable housing continue in Boston, with one organization that owns 500 residential units in Allston and Brighton seeing its waitlist top an eye-popping 17,000.

More than half of the units owned by the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation have rental subsidies and on average the income for its households would be considered “the low-end of low income,” said John Woods, the organization’s executive director.

Woods recently confirmed the wait-list queue, and said that natural turnover that occurs with market-rate housing doesn’t happen with the type of housing his organization offers, which is the major driving factor for the length of the list.

07.09.2020

In the Bay State Banner: Hibernian Hall and VLA DANCE launch free classes

On Monday, July 6, VLA DANCE and Hibernian Hall launched their “Summer Online Movement Series” providing classes for young people ages 10–15 and adults. The series runs through August 12 with a packed class schedule on both Monday and Wednesday each week. The classes are free and hosted on Zoom, but registration is required.

06.11.2020

On BNN News: New Fund Aiding Community Contractors

Katrina Conrad, Workforce Diversity Project Manager for the Madison Park Development Corp., talks about the fund set up in partnership with Life Science Cares to help with the expense of reopening for small contracting firms headed by women or people of color. Interview for BNN News. Aired June 11, 2020.

06.04.2020

In Life Science Cares Blog: LSC Partners with Madison Park Development Corp to Help Minority Contractors Get Back to Work

Today, Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC) & Life Science Cares (LSC) launch The Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) Contractors Relief Fund, an initiative to offer emergency financial assistance for Minority and Women-Owned Contractors in Greater Boston. As a community development corporation, MPDC comprehends the economic hardships of small contractors during COVID-19. Many MWBE contractors have found it challenging to access grants, funds, and unemployment assistance currently being offered by state and federal agencies.