The late Jim Clark Sr. rarely missed a civic meeting in Mattapan, in particular those of the Boston State Hospital Community Advisory Committee (CAC) that he chaired for many years. Last Wednesday (April 26), the momentous groundbreaking for The Preserve at Olmsted Green on the former campus of the hospital was an appropriate occasion for a crowd of his family and friends to celebrate Clark’s dedication to Mattapan affairs some 40 months after his death in January 2020.

Calling him “a family man” who loved Mattapan, Clark’s wife Dolores noted that “he was on the CAC here and 36 other organizations in the neighborhood ever since we moved up here in 1965. From Mayor White all the way up to Mayor Menino, we were always very involved. I could not slow him down.”

Clark’s daughter, Lisa Clark-Harvin, said her father was most proud of the Clark Cooper Community Garden that he helped found on the hospital grounds 30 years ago, as well as his work at the equal opportunity division of the MBTA in helping so many in the Mattapan community get high-quality jobs.

Breaking ground for The Preserve at Olmsted Green – the final phase of that project – were state Rep. Russell Holmes, Jessica Boatright of the Mayor’s Office of Housing, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Jerry Rappaport, Jr. of New Boston Fund, Carol Gladstone of the state DCAMM, MassHousing Director Chrystal Kornegay, and Boston Housing Chief Sheila Dillon.

“He was always an active community person my entire life,” she said. “It was part of who he was. As a kid, I always remember him mentoring people and we always had people coming to the house…He was a giant – a gentle giant.”

Other members of the family present included his sister Gloria Clark, James Clark II, Jordyn Clark, and James Clark III.

In addition to honoring Clark, the developers honored the late Frank Bispham, another long-time chair of the CAC.

Some 20 years ago, Jerry Rappaport Jr. of New Boston Fund partnered with Lena Park Community Development Corporation (CDC) to begin filling up 38.5 acres of vacant land with new homes. Though there were starts and stops, Olmsted Green has completed 237 units of affordable family housing, 60 market-rate rental units, 29 units of low-income supportive housing for homeless seniors, as well as the new, 3,000-square-foot Gateway Center community space.

The Preserve will begin construction soon on 80 units of mixed-income homeownership opportunities, 63 of them available for affordable and moderate-income units for first-time homebuyers. There will be 49 two-bedroom units available for between $275,000 to $420,000 based on income, and 14 three-bedroom units for sale between $300,000 and $465,000. The remaining 17 units will be sold at market-rate prices.

“We are all so proud of this tremendous accomplishment that took almost 20 years and many community leaders and public funding village participants to pull off,” said Rappaport. “

State Rep. Russell Holmes earned applause for his continuing robust advocacy when the project stalled out during the 2008 recession. He said he was proud to have advocated for the project, but noted that he was one of many, mentioning Jim Clark Sr.

“I just carried the baton, and that baton was handed to me by stalwarts doing this work,” he said, noting he was glad to see that the Preserve will utilize state funding for homeownership, not rentals. “We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on affordable rentals; it is due time we spend hundreds of millions of dollars on affordable homeownership.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was also in attendance. She applauded the project, noting that “it is not an understatement to say we’re in a housing crisis.”

Other speakers and dignitaries included Carol Gladstone of the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), MassHousing’s Chrystal Kornegay, Mayor’s Office of Housing Director Sheila Dillon, SVB First Citizens Bank official Peter Holland, and City Councillor Brian Worrell.