New board members and a newly installed temporary executive director at Lena Park Community Development Corporation are saying it’s “a new day” at the organization, which is based on American Legion Highway near Franklin Park.

Founded in 1968 to pursue affordable housing and youth development initiatives, Lena Park manages a broad real estate portfolio, with about half of it (298 units) located on the grounds of the former state hospital site along Morton Street in Mattapan.

The organization has also juggled its share of trouble in recent years, including rapid turnovers of directors and board members, along with publicly aired allegations of impropriety within the organization.

Observers like state Rep. Russell Holmes, a frequent critic of the group’s past leadership, said he is impressed with what he sees from the reconstituted board.

“It does seem like a new day at Lena Park,” Holmes told The Reporter in a recent interview. “They have my full support moving forward. I’m looking forward to working with the new executive director and the new board to put Lena Park back on the map from a community asset and resources perspective.”

Last April, the non-profit added five new board members, including Curtis Santos and Veronica Williams, the board’s co-chairs. The new panel last month appointed Electa Sevier to serve as the CDC’s interim executive director with a reform agenda focused on finances and programming.

The current board includes Olinka Briceno, Alice Cintron, Tony Davis, and Alexandra Gonzalez. Each has a role in the repair mission, Santos said.

“The board is getting a hold on what’s happening,” Santos said. “There have been a lot of good discussions about creating more space for young people to access the facility…We have seen an uptick in community and partners coming to us. It shows we have hope and we’re looking at how to pull in partners to use this beautiful space we have. We want to carry the message to everyone, ‘We are here.’”

Last year, the board hired Carole Copeland as a consultant to help find an interim director to assess the organization’s weaknesses and strengths. That search brought them to Sevier, a Jamaica Plain resident, who started in April and will be in place for about a year, she said, before a permanent director search is launched.

“This job is no different than anything I’ve done in an interim executive director role,” she said. “First step is to do an organizational assessment. I’m about halfway through that, reviewing financial operations and programming and fundraising and the real estate portfolio,” she said, noting that she’ll share it with the board this month.

“Then, together, we will establish my priorities for my time here. My intent is to be here through the transition and make sure things are smooth.”

The makeover comes as Lena Park is engaged in the final piece of re-development at the State Hospital site with partner 2Life communities, which will add almost 200 new units to its portfolio. The CDC also manages sites like LLB Apartments, which has 101 units scattered across Dorchester and Mattapan. There’s also the Brown Kaplan Apartments with 60 units on and near Wilbert Road, and the Granite Apartments that include 143 units in the Harvard Talbot Triangle area.

The CDC also owns and manages a community center with a gym and ample space for programming on American Legion Highway, alongside a staff office that manages resident services.

Santos said a key goal is getting the community center activated with as many programs as possible, a highlight being the DCR Nights program this summer every evening – including BBQs and field trips during the day. An open gym on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings has already proven popular, and a new effort to rebuild ties to the neighboring Edward Brooke Charter School campuses is also bearing early fruit, he said.

“We have to now get the message out that this is not exclusive here and folks should have access to this facility [the community center],” he said. “It’s a beautiful space and has a lot of potential and we really want folks to access it.”
For her part, Sevier said the rebuilding process will not be rushed.

“We are going slow to go fast,” she said. “While a lot is happening it’s like putting insulation in your house – it’s not the glamorous stuff but necessary. Really, Lena Park won’t shine the way it needs to for another six months to a year.”
Added Santos: “Any time you go into something like this, it’s shell shocking when you first walk in…Even so, we decided to take it on and get to work.”

He noted that the officers and the board have listened to staff, heard their concerns about the past, and said they “have shown a tenacity through the process.”

For more information on Lena Park, visit lenaparkcdc.org.