Property Development
Robinson Gardens Wins a State Grant for a Makeover
Springfield Housing Authority Executive Director William H. Abrashkin announces the $6.7 million grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development to upgrades at Robinson Gardens Apartments.
On a blustery afternoon, officials and friends of the Springfield Housing Authority gathered at Robinson Gardens Apartments to announce a $6.7 million grant for exterior upgrades.
The funds, from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, will mean new screen doors, thermal pane windows, siding, sidewalks, gutters, downspouts and more for the families living at the 136-unit family development in the Pine Point section of the city.
Beneath a colorful tent on Tuesday April 3 were officials and guests including SHA Executive Director William H. Abrashkin, state Department of Communities and Development Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein, State Sens. Gail Candaras and James Welch, state Rep. Benjamin Swan, city Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy, and many more. SHA Board of Commissioners Chairman Timothy Babcock, Vice Chairman Raymond Warren and Assistant Secretary Eugenia Choiniere also attended.
State DHCD Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein speaks about the grant at Robinson Gardens Apartments.
Babcock said the housing authority is thrilled to have another grant for upgrades that will help put a state housing development on the federal rolls. The Robinson grant comes on the heels of two other such grants, at Reed Village and John J. Duggan Park.
“This grant sends a positive message to the people of Springfield,” Babcock said. “As a community, we are in this together, and together, we’ll get this done.”
The grant was hailed as a key piece of economic development for the city, providing some 50 jobs through the 2012 construction season. Work is expected to begin July 1 and run through December.
State Sen. Gail Candaras praises the Springfield Housing Authority while at Robinson Gardens Apartments.
The SHA has hired architect Dietz & Company of Springfield to design the project. Work is expected to begin July 1 and continue through the end of December. The work at Robinson Gardens has been augmented by $691,974 in funding from the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Once the work is done, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will send a team to visit Robinson and inspect the development to see that it meets federal public housing standards. When that process is complete, Robinson Gardens will move from its current status as a state development, to a federal development, meaning more housing subsidy reimbursements for SHA.
Reed Village received $3.7 million from the state DHCD last year for upgrades, in addition to the $737,095 in ARRA funds. Upgrades at that 200-unit development in the Bay neighborhood are nearly complete.
State Rep. Benjamin Swan gives a citation from the state House of Representatives to SHA Executive Director William H. Abrashkin.
Duggan received $6.7 million in DHCD funds, in addition to the $723,015 in ARRA funds used. Work is underway at Duggan, a 196-unit family development in the Indian Orchard neighborhood of the city.
Abrashkin, Gornstein, Candaras and Swan also spoke at the grant announcement, all agreeing that the upgrades at Robinson are good for residents, the SHA and the city of Springfield.
Abrashkin invited visitors to return to Robinson Gardens next year.
“You will see a big difference,” he predicted.
