Last week, the Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF) held its second meeting to discuss the Dorchester initiative on the building of one or more free-standing community centers on sites throughout the neighborhood.
The kick-off meeting took place in October, and since that time a survey has been posted in an effort to glean the best programming options using input from the community. That survey will be open for comment until April, but so far, last week’s meeting was told, the most requested activities from 222 respondents, mostly from Grove Hall and Ashmont, are flexible community space, performing space, an indoor pool, basketball courts/indoor track, and an outdoor gathering space.
“Many might question why we’re looking at the programming before we know where the site is,” said BCYF Director Marta Rivera. “We need to know what the needs of the community are before we begin looking for a space to fit these needs into. That’s why we started first with programming.”
As an aside, pointing to a controversial statement made at the October meeting, Rivera said the Parks Department has put on hold any plans to create a park in Grove Hall along Geneva Street where many hope to locate a center.
According to preliminary survey results, the ideal program would be a 57,000 square-foot building that is two stories tall and has a minimum lot size of 47,000 square feet. The building would have a gym and pool, flexible spaces, arts spaces, ready access to outdoor athletic fields, outdoor gathering spaces, and large amounts of room for fitness activities.
There will be another meeting next month or in, and that will focus on a site. To that end, BCYF has put an interactive map on its Dorchester study website – boston.gov/news/Dorchester-community-center-siting-study-underway – for residents to use to cite specific land options they would like the city to investigate. It could be public land, or private land. There was a warning that city-owned land would likely be the fastest track to construction, and any lots would have to be mindful of parking needs as well.
Rivera said site decisions would consider existing facilities as well as the age, density, and population of the area. She also indicated that while they are now looking at the first center, there are plans for multiple locations over several years in Dorchester and other neighborhoods.
“We don’t know the total over the next five to 10 years, but we expect multiple Dorchester locations and we’re looking at Charlestown, the North End, and potentially Allston-Brighton,” she said. “There’s quite a few.”
The final study report is to be released in May, with two more community meetings expected before then. Currently, most BCYF community centers are attached to school buildings and that reality hampers when they can open and what activities they can provide. A stand-alone center would be free of any such restraints.
