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Boston Globe
17-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Myechia Minter-Jordan heads to D.C. to lead the AARP, advocate for Social Security
Minter-Jordan started in the chief executive job in November, taking over for Jo Ann Jenkins , leading an organization with around 39 million members, about 2,700 employees, and annual revenue of $1.7 billion. She said she took the job in part because it would allow her to have an even broader national impact than where she previously worked, the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health . But doing so means she'll leave Boston: She already has a home in Washington, where AARP is headquartered, and is putting her family's West Roxbury home on the market. Advertisement She'll miss the incredible network she established in Boston, led by other prominent people of color such as Bennie Wiley and Carol Fulp . Minter-Jordan moved here in 2007 from Baltimore to be chief medical officer at the Dimock Center in Roxbury, and eventually became its chief executive. She also became a mover and shaker in Boston, and helped launch the New Commonwealth Fund for racial equity and social justice in 2020. Boston, she said, can be a hard place to break into as an executive, because it's a city with a firmly entrenched power structure. Advertisement 'I'm grateful for all the support I received from many of those people,' Minter-Jordan said of her Boston network. 'When you have that network, it really supports you as a leader.' A win for Corporate Boston Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was at the grand opening of The Lyndia, New England's largest permanent supportive housing development, in Jamaica Plain. She was greeted by Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff The grand opening of a 202-unit apartment building in Jamaica Plain last week marked a big victory for Lyndia Downie , her team at the Pine Street Inn , and her development partners at The Community Builders . After all, with 140 apartments for people who will continue to receive support from Pine Street Inn as they move out of homelessness, It also represented a victory for Corporate Boston — by showing what can happen when many of the city's largest employers band together. Corporate donors kicked in more than $6 million toward a $10 million initiative known as the Way Home Fund, providing financial support for services at the JP building that range from helping people establish credit scores to ensuring they're current with medical appointments. The initiative began as then-mayor Martin J. Walsh started his second term as mayor in 2018. He led the effort to prod some big names to open their checkbooks, Downie said. Five committed to $1 million each: MassMutual , Bank of America , Liberty Mutual , Mass General Brigham , and Suffolk Construction . Other donors included TD Bank , Eastern Bank , Eversource , Related Beal , and Natixis . (Separately from the fund, developer HYM Investment Group kicked in $5 million as a linkage payment to the city, to help win approval for its massive Advertisement While he knows of examples in other US cities, The Community Builders chief executive Bart Mitchell said this is the first time he's seen a corporate fund-drive of this scope for a project like this in Boston. TCB developed the $105 million project and assembled the financing, which included money from federal tax credit investors as well as state and city subsidies. Formerly homeless residents in the 140 units pay one-third of their income for rent; the 62 remaining units in the building (dubbed 'The Lyndia' in honor of Downie's career fighting homelessness as Pine Street Inn's president) are available at subsidized rates to lower-income earners. The 166,000-square-foot 'The opening of the JP building, it really was a huge community effort,' Downie said. 'It is the best of who we are, in my opinion, when we can make all these things happen, and get at a really sticky problem. The fact that the corporations are willing to support this, it gives us a lot of confidence in the model and confidence that maybe we can replicate this.' Betting on bricks at Legacy Place Halloween Crawl for a Cause at Legacy Place in Dedham features trick-or-treating for the family and specialty beverages for the adults. Brad Bahner/Brad Bahner/Legacy Place Ron Dickerman always figured he would return to Massachusetts after leaving for business school at Columbia University in the 1980s. Instead, he stayed in New York, first working in investment banking, and then in private equity. But the Lexington native does return for one important reason: to shop for real estate investment opportunities. Dickerman just inked a deal for his private equity firm, Madison International Realty , to buy a 50 percent stake in Legacy Place , the nearly 500,000-square-foot open-air shopping center in Dedham. Dickerman's firm acquired the stake held by Nuveen in the partnership that owns Legacy Place, for an undisclosed amount. The other partners are WS Development and the Redstone family's National Amusements Inc. , which jointly developed the project more than 15 years ago. (Madison and WS are also partners in MarketStreet Lynnfield , and Madison also is investing in lab developer IQHQ 's Fenway Center project.) Advertisement Despite the rise of online shopping, Dickerman is still a big believer in bricks-and-mortar. He notes that Legacy draws regular customers from as far away as 30 miles, because of the tenant mix — it's essentially full — and the experience. The retail sector appears to be stabilizing, particularly because so few new shopping centers were built across the country in recent years. 'There's been so much dislocation with Amazon and home delivery,' Dickerman said. 'In our view, retail is finally starting to catch an equilibrium.' Crossing out X from PR strategy A local PR firm is recommending that municipal and public safety clients phase out their use of X (formerly known as Twitter). Tuane Fernandes/Bloomberg Scratch X, formerly known as Twitter, off the list of social media sites for local publicity firm John Guilfoil Public Relations . JGPR sent out an email last month announcing it would no longer recommend the site to its public safety clients. The reason? It has nothing to do with the controversies surrounding owner Elon Musk and his chaotic attempts to dismantle much of the federal government. Instead, the site simply isn't getting anywhere near the engagement levels it once did. Founder John Guilfoil said a survey by his firm drew responses from nearly 150 police, fire, and municipal government agencies across the country, along with 17 news outlets, from mid-December to mid-February. Nearly 40 percent said their use of Twitter/X has greatly decreased in the past two years, and roughly three-fourths said they interact with a member of the public on it less than once a month. 'We would have been measuring that in a matter of minutes or hours with a client five years ago,' he said. Advertisement One big reason: In early 2023, soon after Musk's buyout, Twitter announced it would no longer grant users free access to its Application Programming Interface platform, making it more difficult to use, particularly with other digital tools. Guilfoil still recommends that clients use Facebook , and LinkedIn is helpful because it's usually not blocked by workplace firewalls. While he said the survey has been accused of being part of a left-wing conspiracy, he simply wants to be an effective communications rep for clients. 'History tells us,' Guilfoil says, 'that every one of these internet services will eventually disappear and die.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Boston Globe
17-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Corporate Boston played a key role in opening new Pine Street Inn shelter
Advertisement The initiative began as then-mayor Marty Walsh was starting his second term as mayor in 2018. He wanted to raise money to help the city's homeless, Downie said, and led the effort to prod some big names to open up their checkbooks. Five committed to $1 million each: MassMutual, Bank of America, Liberty Mutual, Mass General Brigham, and Suffolk Construction. Other donations came from the likes of TD Bank, Eastern Bank, Eversource, Related Beal, and Natixis. (Separately from the Way Home Fund, developer HYM Investment Group kicked in $5 million as a linkage payment to the city, to win approval for its massive While he knows of examples in other US cities, The Community Builders chief executive Bart Mitchell said this is the first time he's seen a corporate fund-drive of this scope for a project like this in Boston. TCB developed the $105 million project and assembled the financing, which included money from federal tax credit investors as well as state and city subsidies. Formerly homeless residents in the 140 units will pay one-third of their income as rent; the 62 remaining units in the building (dubbed 'The Lyndia' in honor of Downie's career fighting homelessness as president of Pine Street Inn) are available at subsidized rates to lower-income earners. The 166,000-square-foot Advertisement Aside from being good corporate citizens, Downie said addressing homelessness is in the employers' best interest, as evidenced by the ongoing debate about loitering and congregate drug use taking place downtown — a problem that was exacerbated by the dispersal of encampments at the Mass. and Cass intersection. So will we see more corporate efforts like this one? Downie sure hopes so. Pine Street Inn and TCB are working on a similar project in Dorchester, 'The opening of the JP building, it really was a huge community effort,' Downie said. 'It is the best of who we are, in my opinion, when we can make all these things happen, and get at a really sticky problem. The fact that the corporations are willing to support this, it gives us a lot of confidence in the model and confidence that maybe we can replicate this.' This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene. Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders Announce Opening of New England's Largest Development for Housing with Support
"The Lyndia," named in honor of Pine Street President and Executive Director Lyndia Downie, includes 202 units, 140 for individuals moving out of homelessness and 62 for income-eligible families BOSTON, March 12, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pine Street Inn, New England's largest homeless services organization, and The Community Builders (TCB), national developers of affordable housing, today announced the grand opening of "The Lyndia," a 202-unit building in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood, with 140 apartments for people moving out of homelessness and 62 apartments for income-eligible families. The 140 units represent the largest development for housing with support in New England. At a ceremony today, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, leaders from Pine Street Inn and TCB, state and city officials, RODE Architects and other public and private partners celebrated the building's opening with tenants and community members. The building, located at 3368 Washington St., is named in honor of Lyndia Downie, who has dedicated her entire 40-year career to ending homelessness, including the last 25 years as president and executive director of Pine Street. "3368 Washington Street represents our unwavering commitment to ensuring every Bostonian has a safe, stable place to call home," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "With supportive services on-site and a strong community network, these new apartments provide a foundation for residents to rebuild their lives. I am grateful to our partners and the community for making this vision a reality." "Everyone has a role to play in meeting our housing needs in Massachusetts and partners like Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders embody our mission of ensuring homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring. I am grateful for the new housing being created here for formerly homeless and low-income people," said Chris Thompson, Undersecretary of Housing Stabilization, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The Lyndia helps meet the increased need for large-scale housing with support in Boston. Architect-designed by Boston-based RODE Architects, it was uniquely built to be a welcoming, dignified, community-oriented environment for individuals moving out of homelessness, as well as income-eligible families. The innovative public-private nature of the project and the strong support of community groups in Jamaica Plain serve as a model for the development of similar housing with support residences in Boston and beyond. "The opening of this new building marks a milestone for Pine Street Inn, bringing our total to more than 1,000 units of housing – 1,100 to be exact – for people moving out of homelessness," said Downie. "The building offers 140 units of housing with support, the largest development of its kind in New England. Together with The Community Builders, our development partners, we are creating a community where people can rebuild their lives, along with staff who support tenants in remaining stable and housed." "This grand opening is personal to me," said Andy Waxman, senior vice president of real estate development for The Community Builders. "For many years I've lived with my family in Jamaica Plain, blocks from 3368 Washington St, and even closer to another long-standing building for housing with support. I know it works, for residents and for a neighborhood. The partnership that brought this project to reality is a powerful combination – a permanent home, when paired with strong support services, provides a critical platform for personal growth, stability, and increased independence. Today's ribbon-cutting celebrates the collaboration that made it possible." The 165,501-square foot building includes more than 13,000 square feet of community space and an additional 13,400 square feet of outdoor space for residents. Amenities include laundry facilities on each floor, social gathering spaces, a library and high-speed internet. Pine Street will provide wrap-around and supportive services to residents as they transition to permanent housing, including making connections to community resources like medical and mental health care, life skills, job training and jobs, or volunteer opportunities. TCB connects residents in the 62 family units to opportunity and economic mobility with TCB Community Life coaching. The building also features 26 pieces of original artwork throughout the building, all produced by artists with a connection to Jamaica Plain or other Boston neighborhoods and curated by Ivey Bueno, who specializes in community-focused art. "We believe strongly that good design is for all, so we're honored to collaborate with Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders in delivering The Lyndia, a model for thoughtful, accessible, and equitable design," said Eric Robinson, principal and co-founder of RODE Architects. "We leaned on our commitment to creating a sense of home and place, with hospitality-driven amenities that will transform the lives of community members who need them the most." Sources of funding included public and private lenders and investors: City of Boston Mayor's Office of Housing; Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; MassDevelopment; Bank of America; Barings, Inc.; The HYM Investment Group, LLC; Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation; Boston Medical Center; Corporation for Supportive Housing; M&T Bank; and The Life Initiative. A robust group of philanthropic partners contributed to the project. Major philanthropic funding came from Bank of America; Liberty Mutual Insurance; MassGeneral Brigham; MassMutual; and Suffolk Cares. About Pine Street Inn Supporting more than 2,000 individuals daily, Pine Street Inn is the largest homeless services provider in New England. Programs include permanent housing, job training, emergency shelter and street outreach, with a goal of moving individuals off the street, out of shelter and back to a home and community. With a housing retention rate of 96%, Pine Street continues to scale up housing with support, which now includes 1,100 tenants living in buildings Pine Street owns or operates in Boston and Brookline. For more information, visit About The Community Builders The Community Builders' mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can thrive. Our mission-driven businesses work with partners to develop, finance, and operate residential communities, neighborhood amenities and opportunity programs for families, seniors, and adults with disabilities. Since 1964, we have advanced housing that is fair for all through award-winning affordable and mixed-income communities and our pioneering Community Life model for resident success. Today, our ownership and management portfolio include over 15,000 apartment homes. Anchored by offices in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, New York, and Washington D.C., we operate across 15 states. About RODE Architects RODE is a Boston-based team of architects, designers, and urban planners who know that great design has the power to transform our environment. We have cultivated a network of driven people – employees, clients, builders, community members – who share this mission, and know that working collaboratively is the best way to achieve our goals. The breadth and depth of our collective capabilities enable us to apply our practice across an array of project types that includes mixed-use, hospitality, multi-family, commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings. Clients select RODE to drive the design process and ensure their vision is realized. For more information, visit View source version on Contacts Barbara Trevisan, Pine Street Innbtrevisan@ (617) 892-9174 Brian Lowe, Elevate Communicationsblowe@ (508) 523-4901
