The city’s Department of Neighborhood Development routinely asks developers seeking to build on city-owned land to outline their goals for hiring people of color and contracting with minority businesses.
While the DND minority participation goals are optional, the Roxbury residents who packed into a public meeting last week at the Roxbury Boys and Girls Club to hear competing proposals for the sale of a row of Warren Street storefronts made it clear that hiring people of color would not be negotiable.
When pressed to make a commitment on minority hiring goals for his proposed redevelopment of 280-290 Warren Street, Dorchester-based developer Edward Ahern refused to give a percentage.
“We’re committed to it,” he said tersely.
“There are standards here,” Roxbury resident Kaidi Grant told Ahern. “I suggest you do your homework, then come here and speak to your commitment.”
“I don’t care about the color of someone’s skin,” Ahern responded. “I care about your work ethic. A good work ethic is hard to come by.”
FPM LLC President Brendan Feeney declined to commit to minority hiring goals in his hand-written response, submitted to the Department of Neighborhood Development as part of his bid to redevelop 280-290 Warren Street.
To say Ahern’s answers, or his refusal to give answers, angered community residents would be a bit of an understatement. Residents frequently drowned out Ahern’s answers with angry shouts during the community meeting, which was organized by DND officials to give Roxbury residents a chance to evaluate and weigh in on the two proposals.
The land in question, a row of storefronts opposite the Washington Park Mall, is currently owned by the City of Boston. Vying for the rights to redevelop the land, Ahern is competing with the Cruz Development Corporation, a firm with decades of history in Boston’s black community. The differences between Cruz’s proposal, and the one Ahern advanced on behalf of the FPM LLC development firm couldn’t have been more stark.
Representing Cruz, Daniel Cruz presented an architect’s rendering of a four-story brick apartment building, with ground floor office space for Cruz Construction and Cruz Management’s 49 employees and one-, two- and three-bedroom units affordable to moderate-income renters on the upper three floors.
Cruz outlined his firm’s minority participation rates on past projects, showing 75 percent of the firm’s jobs on recent projects going to people of color and as much as 85 percent of all subcontracts going to minority-owned firms.
Representing FPM LLC, Ahern gave an architect’s drawing of the floor plan for renovated concrete single-story storefronts for the Warren Street property, promising to bring in between two and five retail tenants.
Abutter Kim Janey poses a question during a community meeting on the city’s sale of 280-290 Warren Street.
Sparks fly
While Cruz’s proposal sparked conversation about density, parking and urban redevelopment, Ahern’s presentation elicited angry responses from audience members, who accused the developer of coming unprepared to the meeting.
“With all due respect, that has to be the most unflattering presentation I’ve seen in this neighborhood,” said Rodney Singleton. “Where are the renderings? You came unprepared.”
Last week’s meeting marks the second time Cruz and Ahern have offered competing proposals for the Warren Street site — a row of concrete storefronts between Clifford and Woodbine Streets, facing the Washington Park Mall. Back in 2011, both Cruz Construction and Ahern’s then-firm, Boston Property Development, presented their proposals at a poorly-attended community meeting that neighborhood residents said was not publicized.
The Department of Neighborhood Development scored Ahern’s proposal for a row of one-story storefronts higher than the Cruz proposal for office space and apartments. Cruz objected, citing apparent flaws in Boston Property Development’s bid, including questionable financing.
To demonstrate its capacity to finance the project, Cruz noted in a 2011 letter to DND Project Director Christopher Rooney that Boston Property Development produced a two-page computer printout showing the balances on 47 separate bank accounts with the names blacked out.
DND officials stopped the disposition process after neighborhood residents and abutters complained they were not given a chance to review the proposals.
During the 2011 bidding process, Ahern represented a firm called Boston Property Development. That year, he was listed as a manager on that firm’s corporate filing with Secretary of State’s office. This time around, Ahern is listed as the contact person for Boston Construction LLC with an address at 100 Hallet Street in Dorchester. No firm with that address is registered with the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division.
FPM LLC, short for Feeney Property Management, is run by Aiden and Bredan Feeney, according filings with the Secretary of State’s office. The developers have retained the services of Roche-Christopher Architects, a firm founded by William “Buddy” Christopher, a former Department of Neighborhood Development official whom Mayor Martin Walsh last year appointed commissioner of the city’s Inspectional Services Division.
Community questions
In the current go-around, several dozen Roxbury residents viewed the two proposals and questioned the developers extensively.
With Cruz, abutters focused many of their questions on whether the 39 parking spaces his firm is proposing for the $23 million project would be sufficient for the 51 units of housing and 49 employees his firm plans to house in the proposed building. Danny Cruz said there is sufficient on-street parking to absorb the building’s off-site parking needs.
In addition to their questions about minority hiring, meeting attendees questioned Ahern on the types of tenants in other commercial properties he has redeveloped and the merits of his proposed $999,000 project. Dollar stores, cell phone retailers and laundromats were depicted in a series of slides Ahern presented of other storefronts he says he has redeveloped on Dorchester Avenue, Blue Hill Avenue and River Street in Mattapan.
Daniel Cruz said his firm plans to share 10 percent of the profits generated by the development with The Freedom House, a Grove Hall-based nonprofit that provides educational and job training services. Cruz Construction and Cruz Management, which are currently housed in different buildings, would occupy ground-floor office space in the building. Above, 15 percent of the 51 apartments proposed would be market rate. The remaining 36 would be affordable to families earning between $42,000 and $57,000. Two-bedroom apartments will be priced between $1,175 a month and $1,400, Cruz said.
Responding to questions from abutters, Cruz said his firm would conduct further study of parking in the area. He stressed the firm’s commitment to maintaining positive relations with neighbors.
“We’re going to be in there,” he said. “It’s not like we’re someone who puts this up and goes home. We want to be good neighbors.”
