Local groups will split $352k in Dot Block community funding

The Boston Planning and Development Agency’s board signed off last week on the list of 16 entities that will share in $352,000 in funding from an agreement struck between the city and the developers behind the Dot Block apartment complex. Samuels & Associates and Gerald Chan’s Wintergold LLC work together on plans for the project.

Dot Block’s boundaries are Dorchester Avenue to the east, Hancock Street on the south side, Pleasant Street on the west and Greenmount Street on the north. The project’s buildings include hundreds of rental units, as well as amenities such as lounges, a fitness center, free coffee, and a pool deck. Leasing for two of the four approved buildings began in May.

The 16 organizations receiving funds through the project, out of 30 that applied, are well-known in the neighborhood.

Boston Little Saigon, which seeks to highlight and preserve the area’s Vietnamese American culture, is set to receive $59,264, while the anti-violence Louis D. Brown Peace Institute is in line for $35,282.

The Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester will receive $35,000 and the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp. (DBEDC) will take in $30,000.

The other organizations are:

• Youth Enrichment Services, a nonprofit ($10,000).
• White Snake Projects, a local opera production company ($15,000).
• Teen Center at St. Peter’s ($16,000).
• Speak for the Trees, an environmental group ($27,000).
• Somali Development Center ($10,000).
• Irish Pastoral Centre ($9,750).
• Fresh Food Generation, a Caribbean restaurant company ($36,000).
• Boston Food Forest Coalition, a nonprofit ($10,000).
• Artists for Humanity ($20,000).
• Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) ($10,000).
• All Dorchester Sports League ($10,000).
• Boston Collegiate Charter School Foundation ($19,204).

The BPDA and the developer signed an agreement that included the $352,000 in February 2020. The agreement also called for $2,500 to be paid to the Friends of Coppens Square, a nonprofit organization seeking to restore the Lyman Fountain at the intersection of Bowdoin Street and Adams Street, and $25,000 to the Boston Police Department for security equipment.


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