Somerville Community Corporation tries to sustain Union Square's affordable housing

By Melanie Cordova

After almost two decades of turmoil, the long awaited extension of the Green Line into Somerville and Medford appears to finally be on its way. The project is expected to improve both the city's economic and environmental conditions. However, some Somerville organizations, such as Somerville Community Corporation, are considering possible dilemmas that the Green Line's arrival may bring.

“Union Square is the next bubble neighborhood for gentrification,” SCC's CEO, Daniel LeBlanc said at Friday's Somerville News contributors meeting. Established as a consumer advocacy center 40 years ago, SCC has evolved into Somerville's only community development organization with a large focus on developing affordable housing, he said.

According to Reconnect America, a national non-profit organization that works to integrate transportation systems and the surrounding communities, new rail stops bring very large land use changes in an area. Although this might mean new business for Somerville, SCC's concern is that the changes might also displace long-term residents.

“At some point, there will be so much development that it will be a runaway train,” LeBlanc said, “if you don't have plans for affordable housing then, it will be a problem later on.”

To prevent it from becoming a larger challenge later on, LeBlanc said SCC is considering buying as many properties as they can around the area if they can get the funding for it privately, “so as the market takes off we can maintain affordable housing.”

LeBlanc said he started as a community organizer in Somerville in 1977 with Somerville United Neighborhoods. In those days, he said, Somerville was an affordable community that housed white working class residents almost exclusively. He said the community organizers of the 1970s would not have expected Somerville to become such a desirable, and expensive, place to live.

Comments

[Ed Wood]

Here we go again. House prices should be left fot the market to determine. When groups like the SCC buy up land and property they just jack up the prices for everybody else.

[somebody]

Ed Wood: I completely agree. Affordable housing doesn't make sense on many levels. It artificially raises prices of the rest of housing not "protected" as "affordable housing". Also, the term affordable is a relative term. Who is it supposed to be affordable to. No matter what the price, there will always be people who can and cannot afford the homes at that price. Even "affordable housing" is not affordable to some. So what do you do there??

Luxury car owners do not set aside some of their inventory as "affordable cars" so that people who can't afford luxury cars are given the opportunity to buy them. That just doesn't make sense.

Things change. Sometimes prices go up. sometimes they go down. As homeowners and renters... you just have to deal with that.

[MattC]

This is a difficult subject. In most ways I agree that prices should be left to the market.

But...

Affordable housing can be a way to help teachers live in the city and own property here. The goal would be to have their investment in property grows with thier investment in their jobs and community. This is a "moderate income housing" approach

If a lower income child of working (read working) parents grows up in a community the has a strong respect for education and trades. They will take that in and make it part of their own worldview.

I think we all want our property to become more valuable, (I just bought my first home in Somerville last year in winter hill) we want to make sure this remains a community that is diverse, open minded and supportive of its people.

[THE SOMERVILLE SPY]

You can kiss affordable housing and any available apartment rental units in Somerville goodbye with Sean O'Donovan in office. This developer/Alderman will make sure that his pockets are lined with big bucks and every last apartment unit, affordable housing or rental units at market value, will convert into a condo.

[T.S.]

I am so sick and tired of all these aging socialist hippy Do-Gooders going around fighting for special privileges for a bunch of jobless assholes who stand around on the sidewalk all day and harass every woman that tries to walk down the street. Immigrants=crime. I don't want those people as my neighbors so no, I'm not in favor of setting aside cheap housing for them. People live where they can afford to live. Simple.