Local projects win designation for CPA funds

The Pierce Building in Uphams Corner is slated for renovation.

Eight projects in Dorchester and three in Mattapan were recommended for Community Preservation Act funding in the most recent round, the mayor’s office announced last Saturday. They are included in a 54-project, $34 million bundle submitted to the CIty Council for a vote in March.

Voters in 2016 approved the one percent property tax surcharge that designates funding for affordable housing, historic preservation, and green space projects.

The Morton Station Village project, including 40 units of mixed-income housing and a serenity garden on Morton Street, would receive $1 million of CPA funds. Also in Mattapan, the Norfolk Park track and field area and nearby playground would get a $680,000 boost. A new urban farm could be on the horizon on Flint Street, with the Astoria Farm project recommended for $135,000.

Dorchester projects range from $75,000 for another urban farm — for the Farmers Collaborative to renovate an empty lot into a farm near Fields Corner — to $850,000 for a new playground for the Joseph Lee K-8 School.

Some existing projects are set to receive a chunk of funding from the CPA, like $790,000 to complete the renovation of Garvey Playground with active use areas and a dog park, and $500,000 to renovate the Pierce Building at Uphams Corner.

Four recommendations would lead to new parks or plazas: $600,000 to build a new park for family day care programs and community events adjacent to Lena Park’s affordable housing units; $460,000 to purchase three lots for a new park and playground at Norwell Street with a public-private partnership and a neighborhood association; $140,000 to plan and design a new park in the center of Grove Hall; and $100,000 to design the renovation of Coppens Square near Meetinghouse Hill with a fountain, plaza, and landscaping.


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