Earlier this month, Mayor Martin Walsh and the City of Boston Community Preservation Committee (CPC) announced their recommendation to fund five projects in Jamaica Plain through the latest round of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding.
The projects in Jamaica Plain join 62 other projects citywide totaling over $25.5 million in grants through the current funding round.
Under Historic Preservation $90,000 will go to the Loring Greenough House, $250,000 will go to the Bethel AME Church, $150,000 will go to the St. John’s Episcopal Church and $100,000 to the 1856 First Baptist Church. Under Open Space $300,000 will go to the Jackson Square Redevelopment Initiative Greenway.
Walsh’s recommendation, the proposed projects have been filed with the Boston City Council for a vote of approval. Projects supported with Community Preservation Act funding must create or preserve affordable housing, historic sites, or open space and recreation.
“Projects supported by funding through the Community Preservation Act are a reflection of the needs and voices of the residents in our neighborhoods. Because proposals are developed and created by Bostonians, each project directly serves each of our communities,” said Mayor Walsh. “I want to thank everyone who submitted a project proposal to improve and preserve open spaces, affordable housing or historic spaces throughout the City of Boston.”
The $90,000 to the Loring Greenough House, built in 1760, will help preserve the historic building as it undergoes critical repairs to the structure, including to the historic fabric of the exterior walls.
The $250,000 for the Bethel AME Church building, built in 1919, will be used for rehabilitation and restoration of the historic neighborhood church. The money will help making repairs and capital improvements to the masonry facade and entrance.
St. John’s Episcopal Church building, built in 1882 will get $150,000 to preserve the historic church–making selective repairs to the masonry of the tower and elements of the south and east elevations.
Finally, $100,000 will be spent to preserve the historic First Baptist Church building, built in 1856, by making repairs to stucco cladding in areas of critical loss of the exterior envelope.
Under Open Space the city plans to spend $300,000 to fund capital improvements at the Jackson Square Redevelopment Initiative Greenway. The Initiative will create a new outdoor active and passive recreational space that includes the installation of utilities, lighting and paving.