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Mission Statement

The mission of the Community Development Corporation (CDC) of Boston is to provide the leadership, financial incentives, training, and support necessary to bring economic growth to the inner city. The goals inherent in CDC of Boston's establishment of an urban industrial park some years ago are still in line with our goals today: to develop, articulate, and facilitate public-private partnerships that address the needs of the community. Some of these needs are job creation, business ownership, technical assistance, business space, access to loan opportunities, and insight into emerging industries.

Since its inception, the CDC of Boston's efforts have focused on bringing vacant land and buildings back into productive use. Today, where there was once vacant land, now there is a thriving commercial business center, Crosstown Industrial Park, which employs local workers and generates extensive economic opportunities. A computer assembly plant, a biotechnology center, a service/retail/industrial agency, and the Boston Empowerment Center have all been developed in Crosstown Industrial Park. Working with the CDC of Boston, these businesses have created economic and employment opportunities for Boston's minority communities.

Board Members

Board Members

CDC's Board is made up of a diverse group of civic leaders, educators, lawyers and business women and men with a history of community action, dating back to early nineteen sixty-nine, when CDC was chartered as part of the Model Cities Program, a strategy in the Federal Government's "War on Poverty". CDC's contribution to the areas revitalization continues to this day with the most recent development project being a five acre site, between Albany and Fellows Streets that will become student housing for B.U. Medical School in the fall of 2011. Through the years the board has provided the foresight and leadership required to support a decades long revitalization effort.

CityLab

CityLab is a biotechnology learning laboratory housed at 801 Albany Street. Through CityLab, supported by Boston University, students are provided with state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and a curriculum in biotechnology, which is otherwise unavailable to most school systems. Nearly one-third of the participating students are minorities and at least one-third attend Boston Public Schools. Over the past two decades roughly 100,000 students have passed through CityLab's doors. Programs like CityLab bring knowledge and skills to area youth and stimulate a dynamic local learning environment. Through university linkages like this, CDC of Boston is developing learning opportunities for area youth that will enable them to make lasting contributions to the local economy in the future.

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Contributions

• ABCD - Action for Boston Community Development Inc. (Annual Community Awards Dinner)
• ACE - Alternative for Community & Environment
• Asian CDC Gala - 2010 Annual Fundraiser
• Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (Silk Road Gala)
• BCAE - Boston Center for Adult Education
• Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Children
• Boston Chamber of Commerce
• Boston Prostate Cancer Walk
• Boston Renaissance Charter Public School - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
• Boy Scouts of America
• Brandeis University
• BSO - Opening Night at Symphony
• Cardinal Cushing Centers
• City of Boston's Jr. Golf Program - Boston Parks & Recreation Department
• Doctors Without Boarders - Haiti Relief Fundraiser/WF
• Freedom House
• Friends of Prince Hall Monument Fund
• Funds for Parks & Recreation - Boston, Swing for Boston Classic
• Greater Boston Legal Services
• Haiti Relief Fundraiser/ Western Front
• Longly School of Music
• MA Prostate Cancer Coalition - 11th Annual Conquer & Cure Dinner
• MA Prostate Cancer Coalition - 12th Annual Conquer & Cure Dinner
• Marian Court College
• Mount Auburn Hospital
• Mount Auburn Hospital - Alice Hoffman, Author - Breast Cancer Fundraiser
• Mount Auburn Hospital - "Party of the Year"
• NEC - Annual Contribution
• NEC - Mentee / Mentor Program at China Pearl
• NEC - Sponsorship, 40 Years of Jazz at NEC
• New England Conservatory - Feast of Music
• New Market Business Association
• One Family Inc. - Mothers of Inspiration
• Rogerson Communities - 11th Annual Welcome Home Gala
• Springstep
• The 2009 ABCD Community Awards Dinner
• The Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Children
• The Boston Prostate Cancer Walk Research & Awareness Fund - 2nd Annual Gala Dinner Dance Reservation
• The Crucible - Boston Opera Collaborative
• The Hospice of Cambridge Development Committee - Chilton House Fall Celebration
• The Irish Immigration Center
• Urban League of Eastern MA
• VNAB - Heroes of Home Healthcare
• VNACare
• Wheelock College - Passion for Action Leadership Award
• Whittier Street Health Center - Saving the Health of the Community International Benefit Concert
• Whittier Street Health Center - Saving the Health of the Community
• Zoo New England - Annual Contribution

History

Crosstown Industrial Park

Gilmore/Vines Building

In 1989, the Gilmore/Vines Building at 801 Albany Street was opened after two years of extensive renovation. This 50,000 square feet building was purchased from the Baltimore Brush Company and developed by the CDC of Boston. The Gilmore/Vines Building, where the CDC of Boston's office is located, is now a biotechnology center anchored by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), American Biogenetic Sciences Inc. and Boston University Dental Laboratories.

Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

In 1987, Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries opened its 104,000 square feet headquarters in the Crosstown Industrial Park. This multi-use facility, consisting of office, industrial, and retail space, was co-developed by the CDC of Boston and the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC). The facility now provides training and work programs for individuals with disabilities, programs that promote self-reliance for youth, and a recycled goods program.

When it originally opened, DEC employed 300 people. Nearly 70 percent came from within a seven mile radius of the plant and over 50 percent of DEC employees were minorities. The CDC of Boston's goal of encouraging hiring from within the community was accomplished.

Digital Equipment Corporation

The anchor tenant in the development of Crosstown Industrial Park was the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). CDC of Boston and EDIC were co-developers of the 62,000 square feet assembly plant which opened in 1980. The general contractor for the DEC project was the John B. Cruz Construction Company and the architect was the design firm of Stull and Lee.

Cambridge Business Center

What was previously a vacant building has now been remodeled and is part of a bustling office park. Through the Cambridge Enterprise Collaborative, the CDC of Boston became the developer of the Cambridge Business Center. In 1987, the Collaborative purchased the Hyde Athletic Shoe Building with a million dollar federal grant from the Department of Human Services. Since then, the 120,000 square feet building located at 432 Columbia Street has been renovated into office and incubator space.

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Southwest Corridor Development

Southwest Corridor Development:

The Parcel 18+ Task Force was created in response to the proposed extension of Interstate 95 through the Southwest Corridor to downtown Boston. The construction of the highway would have displaced hundreds of families and disrupted businesses in the African-American community surrounding the Corridor. In protest of this course of action, a coalition of concerned residents and businessmen organized into the Parcel 18+ Task Force, taking their name from the land designation. The task force was chaired by Marvin Gilmore, President/CEO of the Community Development Corporation of Boston.

The opposition of U.S. Secretary of Transportation William Coleman, Senator Edward Brooks, Senator Edward Kennedy and Governor Francis Sargent, in conjunction with that of the task force and other communities, led to the reversal of the decision for the highway. Instead a change to the existing public transportation system was proposed and accepted. This change resulted in the removal the MBTA's Orange Line from Washington Street, a move which helped to stimulate the economic growth now visible the length of Washington Street, to the Southwest Corridor. Three new subway stations, Ruggles, Roxbury Crossing and Jackson Square, were built, stimulating economic growth by encouraging public and private development along the Corridor.

Due to the strong downtown economy of the late 1980s, the Parcel 18+ project managed simultaneously to arrange the necessary financing and tenancy of the 167,000 square feet building next to Ruggles Station. The building was occupied, under the state legislative provision, by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The Registry has since relocated to Chinatown. The building was recently purchased by Northeastern University and has re-emerged as the Renaissance Center.

Today, thanks to the efforts of the Parcel 18+ Task Force, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), community groups, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Southwest Corridor has become a bustling center of activity which includes the Roxbury Community College, the new Boston Police Headquarters, Whittier Street Health Center and will soon include a new shopping center.

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