Lee Goodman from Watermark Development, Inc. and Kate Barrand, CEO of Horizons for Homeless Children, broke ground on a major, 140,000 SF social services hub in the Jackson Square neighborhood of Roxbury. Horizons for Homeless Children is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young homeless children and their families. Horizons provides high quality early education, comprehensive family support services, opportunities for play, and statewide advocacy work. The Horizons Watermark Center, located at 1785 Columbus Ave, will allow Horizons to grow from 175 early childhood education slots to 225 slots and achieve financial independence by owning its own space. Other users of the building include:
- The Department of Children and Families, which will house 85 case workers and serve as DCF’s regional headquarters. The mission of DCF is to ensure that children are able to grow and thrive in a nurturing home environment through case management, foster care, and adoption services.
- YouthBuild USA, a non-profit that provides education, counseling, job skills and leadership training to at-risk and proven-risk youth ages 16-24
The project will open in the spring of 2020 and at full occupancy will bring over 400 new jobs to the Jackson Square area.
Affirmative secured $47.7MM of NMTC Allocation from MassDevelopment, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, The Community Builders, Partners for the Common Good, The Rose Urban Green Fund, and Building America.
Affirmative also secured debt financing for the project from Eastern Bank, Boston Private Bank, BlueHub Community Capital, and The Life Initiative.