There were equal parts cheers and jeers last Thursday night as the Mattapan State Hospital Community Advisory Committee (CAC) voted unanimously to approve the use of an athletic field along Morton Street to serve the Brooke Charter School.

The issue has been high-profile in the emerging neighborhood, as the designated developer Lena New Boston had sought a change of use at the four-acre site. The change removed the urban farm planned back in 2005 and replaced it with an athletic field to serve the community and the Brooke Charter School next door.

The Brooke has had trouble finding existing field space in the city and has either had to not field certain teams or play no home games. Since last fall, the Brooke and some of the homeowners at the abutting Harvard Commons have been in conflict – mostly during CAC meetings.

A vote on the change of use had been expected at several previous meetings, including the March session, but had been postponed each time for further contemplation. Last Thursday, the issue was called to a vote and it passed easily despite the many months of back and forth on the matter.

The vote was done uniformly with CAC member Glenola Mitchell spelling out the specifics prior to the vote, as well as four conditions addressing things like security, signage, and maintenance plans. Those voting in favor included Donna Young, Carmen Kaechler, Joyce Carroll, Stan Gwinn, Donn Dingle, Glenola Mitchell, and Royal Bolling (via proxy vote). There were no votes against the proposal.

The quick vote, though, prompted those in opposition to demand that they be able to speak their mind despite the vote being over.

“You take a vote with no discussion?” asked Kay Mathews. “There is no discussion,” clarified CAC Chair Young. “We’ve been talking about this for a number of months. It’s not something we’ve decided quickly, I promise you.”
The Brooke Charter School and developer Lena New Boston said they appreciated the vote and felt it was the right decision.

“We are thrilled that the CAC voted to approve the change of use,” said Brooke COO Mark Loring. “We are excited to move forward with the process of bringing this athletic field resource to our students and the Mattapan community.  We look forward to continuing to engage with our neighbors to refine plans and make the best possible space we can.”

State Rep. Russell noted that the Brooke and others went door-to-door to seek input from the abutting community.
“I am thankful the CAC once again made the right decision and it’s appropriate to make demands of the developer to deliver a $5 million benefit to the community,” he said. “That is the correct decision…They’ve addressed security and parking and will plant more trees. They chose the location with the fewest amounts of trees.”

But not everyone was ready to jog laps or kick goals.

Several abutting homeowners from the Harvard Commons have spoken up about their opposition to the field – mostly on the grounds of environmental preservation.

“I don’t want to be made to feel like an elitist because I don’t want the field here,” said Jessica Spruill, along with her husband, Darien, last week prior to the vote. “They want to put it in our backyard and take away the few trees we have…We’ve had trash and litter problems, and things stolen, just things I didn’t experience or notice when we first moved here. I’m totally against having a soccer field.”

The field now will have to be approved by the state Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), and then it will move on to a traditional Article 80 review process at the city level. There are still several steps left in the process before the school and developer can move on constructing the field, CAC officials said.

Lena New Boston gets 10-acre PDA
Lena New Boston’s Eric Van Dusen reported to the CAC that his group has received a Provisional Development Agreement (PDA) from the state on the final 10 acres of land available at the State Hospital site – a swath behind MassBiologics and near the corner of Harvard and Walk Hill streets.

“We now have a signed PDA from DCAMM,” said Van Dusen. “We have now entered into the 90 days of that agreement to do our due diligence. We will continue and keep working toward our Licensed Development Agreement (LDA). We are thrilled to have cleared the first milestone and look forward to the others and starting construction.”

The tentative project includes 265 units of supportive senior and Foster Family housing, along with some homeownership opportunities. The plans have not been presented publicly yet.

There was controversy earlier this year when some in the community learned that a previous developer who had gone through a very public process had abandoned his intentions for the site – which was never announced publicly. An alternative process that wasn’t made public ended with the choice of Lena New Boston.