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Second phase of Old Colony redevelopment advances

Print | Comments () Posted by Patrick Rosso September 4, 2012 12:00 PM

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(Image courtesy Boston Redevelopment Authority)

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

The second phase of the Old Colony redevelopment project is moving forward after Mayor Thomas M. Menino signed a project labor agreement to continuing remaking the South Boston public housing complex.

The $64 million contract is expected to generate between 600 and 700 jobs, the city estimated.

“I’m proud to be able to keep our building tradespeople working,” Menino said in a statement. “This agreement creates well-paying union jobs for City of Boston residents.”

Bill McGonagle, administrator of the Boston Housing Authority; Beacon Communities President Pam Goodman; and Martin Walsh, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council, also attended the signing on Thursday.

“Agreements like this are vital to successfully revitalizing our public housing portfolio,” McGonagle said in a statement. “This is a great way to further our mission of making our housing more energy-efficient and improving the lives of our low-income residents.”

Along with providing funding for the redevelopment, the agreement includes funding for the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program, which will provide 30 residents residents with job training and apprenticeship opportunities.

The first phase of the Old Colony redevelopment was completed in March 2012 and included the demolition of the existing housing structures along Columbia Road and Old Colony Avenue.

In their place 116 new units where constructed, including an elevator building and a select number of townhouses. A 10,000 square-foot community center was also included in Phase One construction along with an outdoor recreation space.

Phase Two, which received $22 million in federal funding in 2011 from a Department of Housing and Urban Development HOPE VI grant, will demolish the existing structures along Old Colony Avenue and Dorchester Street and in their place construct 169 new units housed in townhouse buildings and four-story elevator buildings.

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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.