Tackling a tough project
‘This Old House’ marks 30th season by fighting back against housing crisis
Messiah Franklin walks to work along Woodbine Street in Roxbury, past foreclosed and boarded up homes, and by signs that read “private property’’ and “beware of dog.’’ But as he reaches the end of the street, he is overwhelmed by a sense of purpose.
Franklin, 20, says he is inspired by the sight of workers and a camera crew buzzing around a formerly abandoned two-family home that is being restored by the Public Broadcasting Service program “This Old House.’’
Franklin grew up on the street at the center of the city’s foreclosure crisis, and like many longtime residents he is happy to witness something good happening. The dilapidated house is being rebuilt through a partnership with “This Old House,’’ the City of Boston, and nonprofit developer Nuestra Comunidad Development Corp.
“It motivates me to work harder to do something better with myself,’’ said Franklin, who works with YouthBuild Boston Inc., a nonprofit that teaches career and life skills to young adults. “It helps people feel good about their environment, seeing new houses.’’
Celebrating the show’s 30th season, producers of Boston-based “This Old House’’ are returning to the show’s roots with the Woodbine Street house. Episodes featuring the makeover will start airing in Boston in February. The site of the project is only a few blocks away from the Dorchester location of the first house targeted by the TV show, which has won 17 Emmy Awards and spawned a long line of renovation-themed programs, a magazine, books, and a popular website.
The show’s staff chose to restore a foreclosed property for its anniversary as part of an effort to cover topics that are relevant for today’s viewers, said producer Deborah Hood. (Several miles away in Newton Centre, the program helped a couple complete a modest 330-square-foot addition to their home that includes a kitchen upgrade; those episodes began airing earlier this fall.)
“The foreclosure crisis has been in the headlines, and it will also go down in the history books as one of the most challenging periods in the timeline of homeownership in America,’’ said Hood.
“This Old House’’ was launched in 1979 by Russell Morash, who helped create “The French Chef with Julia Child.’’ After working on his own house, Morash decided to make a 13-part series on the renovation of a Victorian house in Dorchester. It generated record ratings for WGBH, PBS’s Boston affiliate.
Today, networks like HGTV are crowded with a variety of home-related shows that tackle everything from paint hues to couples fighting over which house to buy. ABC’s “Extreme Makeover’’ and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’’ specialize in tear-jerker scenarios. Families coping with hardship - such as chronic unemployment or a disabled child - are rewarded with spectacular renovations whipped up by the always-frenzied Extreme crew.
“It is interesting how this little PBS show really got a lot of stuff started in the culture,’’ said Robert Thompson, founding director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. “In a very real sense, they were developing this genre way, way, way before anyone else was doing it.’’
Norm Abram, the show’s master carpenter, said he had no idea when he first agreed to work on the Dorchester project that the effort would make him a household name, or that it would still be running three decades later. Abram, 60, recently said he is halting production of a sister show, “New Yankee Workshop,’’ but will continue working on “This Old House.’’
He said the basic premise of “This Old House’’ is still the same: educating homeowners about the renovation process and helping them appreciate the craftsmanship involved. The main drama of the program centers around the house. In Roxbury, he said, neighbors have been welcoming and excited. Some sit for hours watching the work or yell “Norm’’ from their car windows.
“It can be the spark that can bring back a neighborhood,’’ said Abram. “All it takes is one person to start the ball rolling and people start thinking, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’ ’’
Woodbine Street is in the middle of a 15-block area where 140 homes are bank-owned or being foreclosed on, according to the city. To assist the neighborhood, Mayor Thomas M. Menino last year targeted the area for increased police activity, street improvements, and efforts to buy and renovate foreclosed homes.
“This once-beautiful home in Roxbury is an example of the devastation that foreclosure can cause in our neighborhoods,’’ Menino said. “We are bringing this home back to life.’’
City officials first approached “This Old House’’ producers last year about taping in the city. They worked with Nuestra Comunidad - a community nonprofit that buys, refurbishes, and resells homes at affordable prices - to choose an appropriate house. The city helped fund the renovations with $200,000 in affordable housing funds.
Usually, “This Old House’’ works with homeowners, who finance the project and partner with contractors about decisions. This time, David Price, executive director of Nuestra Comunidad, served as the owner and attended some of the tapings.
Nuestra Comunidad purchased the two-family home for $89,000 and in addition to city funds received some state money for the project. Show sponsors donated materials that allowed for upgrades of cabinets and bathroom fixtures. Still, Price said, the goal was to keep renovation costs down.
The house, built in the 1870s, is called a Second Empire home because of its mansard roof and other architectural details. It had been long vacant, with rotting floors, a crumbling foundation, and dilapidated slate roof. A tree in the back had fallen into the neighbor’s yard and a ramshackle three-story addition had to be torn down.
The property made sense for “This Old House’’ because of its historic features. It plans to replace the roofing with recycled rubber shingles, salvage a curved staircase, and replicate plaster ceiling medallions. To reduce maintenance costs, builders are installing vinyl windows, instead of wood ones.
Lanita Tolentino, a director of volunteer engagement at United Way, won the right to buy one of the property’s two units through a lottery held by Nuestra. Tolentino, 30, said she is thrilled by the purchase, as well as the chance to participate in the program, which she used to watch with her father while growing up in Roxbury. She’s expected to close on the property early next year at a price she declined to disclose.
“Every neighborhood goes through a transition period,’’ said Tolentino. “It has to have a revival moment and I’m happy to be at the brink of that.’’
Jenifer B. McKim can be reached at jmckim@globe.com. 
