Roxbury developer chosen to renovate 4 foreclosed homes

Jim McCarthy, who lives in an apartment on Hendry Street in Dorchester, does his part to keep the street clean. One neighbor feels the neighborhood is coming back to life. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Boston's innovative effort to combat housing foreclosure's effects on neighborhoods reached a milestone yesterday when the city selected a Roxbury developer to renovate four dilapidated homes on Hendry Street in Dorchester.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority selected Bilt-Rite Construction Inc. to purchase, fix up, and sell the city-controlled triple-deckers on the street, the epicenter of the city's foreclosure crisis.

The city bought one of the properties in July and is completing purchase of the other three, which it will turn over to Bilt-Rite Construction for $314,000.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who spearheaded the project, hopes the effort will attract buyers to the neighborhood and motivate existing owners to spruce up their properties.

"We have to stop the hemorrhaging," said Menino. "This is a new start for Hendry Street."

Hendry Street has the highest concentration of foreclosed homes in the city. In February, Menino dispatched a Foreclosure Intervention Team to Hendry Street after being shocked by the devastation there, which included abandoned homes and cars, litter, and street violence. City workers were sent to the street to increase security, plant trees, and crack down on city code violations.

Bilt-Rite co-owner John Sullivan said the company plans to renovate the multifamily properties and sell each of them to an owner-occupant who will rent the other units. If a buyer can't be found, Bilt-Rite will rent until the market improves.

"We are anxious to get it going, get it moving, and get it done, and hopefully do more of them," said Sullivan, who added his firm still needs to work out details with the city.

Bilt-Rite, a 26-year-old company, has completed 35 projects since 2000, including the construction of the Modern, a 25-unit residential building in the South End, and the renovation of the Dartmouth Hotel in Roxbury, according to the city.

Congress appropriated $3.9 billion in federal funds for neighborhood stabilization as part of the housing legislation it passed last month.

Boston has had 713 homes seized in foreclosure in the first seven months of this year, ahead of 2007's pace of 703 for the entire year.

Menino said the federal funds will boost Boston's efforts to put some of those foreclosed homes in the hands of new owners. The city is negotiating to buy another nearby property and has targeted two Roxbury communities for intervention - one along Dacia and Quincy streets and one in the area of Langdon and Clarence streets.

"We hope to buy more properties," Menino said. "I don't want to become a real estate mogul. I want my administration to address the problems of the neighborhood."

Despite progress on Hendry Street, some neighbors complain improvements aren't coming quick enough.

"This whole neighborhood has been boarded up," said Robert Martinez, who was born here 41 years ago. "When are they going to put some people here and give us some jobs?"

Flickers of optimism, however, are apparent. Bright blue signs on some of the abandoned buildings, read: "This is not an empty house. It's our neighbor's future home."

Cape Verdean immigrant Henrique Fernandes saw opportunity rather than despair in the vacant properties near his new home. He bought a two-unit Hendry Street property for $271,500 not knowing at the time the city was also investing in the neighborhood.

"I feel like if the city cares and is willing to invest in the place, like I am not going to be the only one," Fernandes said. "The neighborhood is coming back to life."

Jenifer B. McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com.