These Charlestown Projects Could Get CPA Funding

CHARLESTOWN, MA - Memorial Hall, the 1791 mansion serving veterans, and home of Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War, could be renovated using the city's Community Preservation Act funds.

The mayor is recommending the city fund three projects worth some $526,000 in Charlestown, including the renovation of Memorial Hall.

The recommendation comes as part of a spate of 56 projects worth more than $34 million the City's Community Preservation Committee this week said should be included in the next round of Community Preservation Act funding.

The CPA funds projects that have to do with affordable housing, historic preservation, open space and public recreation across the city. The projects still have to be submitted to the Boston City Council for approval, but the mayor said he anticipated vote from the council in March, according to a release.

Charlestown projects:

• $500,000 to restore the exterior of Memorial Hall, a 1791 mansion serving veterans and the larger community, and home of Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War.
• $20,000 to add new sod, benches, and fencing for Kelly McGoff Park, a public park maintained by a mixed-income homeowners association.
• $6,000 to add informational signs to the Gardens for Charlestown, the only community garden in Boston always open to the public.

After the city adopted the CPA in November 2016, it created a Community Preservation Fund. This fund is capitalized primarily by a 1 percent property tax-based surcharge on residential and business property tax bills that began in July 2017. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is tasked with studying community preservation needs and making recommendations on how CPA funds should be allocated. The CPC is made up of nine members, five of whom are representative of the City's boards and commissions and four of whom are appointed by the City Council. The funding of any project requires a recommendation from the committee and appropriation by the City.

Another project the mayor and the committee recommended include allotting $5 million to buy rental units and income-restrict them as permanently affordable housing via the Acquisition Opportunity Program.

The committee also recommends setting aside $3,800,000 to provide funding for a program offered by the Boston Home Center to assist income-qualified first-time homebuyers.

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff