$7.5 million of Tax Credits for Dudley Municipal Center Project in Boston

March 15, 2013

Building America CDE, Inc., a subsidiary of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, has allocated $7.5 million of New Markets Tax Credits to the Dudley Municipal Center project in Boston. The $115.9 million project is considered a key part of the city’s revitalization of the Dudley Square neighborhood in the economically disadvantaged Roxbury community. The design incorporates three historic buildings, including the landmark Ferdinand’s Building built in the late 1890s, into a new multi-story structure that will provide offices for 450 to 500 municipal workers as well as 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The new shops will complement existing local businesses and create an active street front for the neighborhood. Most of the office space in the LEED-certified, 205,000-square-foot facility will be occupied by the Boston Public Schools administration, which is seeking to consolidate services currently scattered across the city and to better connect city government with residents. 

“The revitalization of Roxbury’s Dudley Square has been a priority for the City of Boston for many years, and this project is going to help make that vision a reality,” said Eric Price, Building America’s Chief Executive Officer and HIT Executive Vice President. “By bringing hundreds of salaried municipal office workers to Roxbury, the new facility is expected to serve as a significant catalyst for development and economic activity in the community.” 

The project will create approximately 600 union construction jobs, 455 other jobs created indirectly by the construction, and 500 permanent office and administrative positions. This project is generating good jobs for members of Boston’s building trades unions and will bring much-needed economic activity to the heart of Roxbury,” said Martin Walsh, Secretary-Treasurer of Boston’s Metropolitan District Building and Construction Trades Council. 

Financing includes a combined $30 million in New Markets Tax Credits from Building America and other organizations, including MassHousing Investment Corporation, Bank of America, and The Community Builders.