Update on Roxbury’s 50 Cedar Street

Update on Roxbury’s 50 Cedar Street

HBI’s preservation planning for the former St. James African Orthodox Church continues with project architect Hacin + Associates.

While the scope of the project at 50 Cedar Street anticipates a first phase of construction for between 9 and 12 home ownership units on the church parking lot at the rear of the property, HBI’s work in the last three months has been largely focused on the preservation of the church and its potential use by a Roxbury-based non-profit organization for its headquarters.  The architectural analyses from this process are helping to determine if the space is right for the non-profit.

HBI will announce the prospective occupant of the historic church as soon as it has a concrete agreement in place.

We continue to explore site and financial analyses to determine the most feasible number of new housing units and parking spaces that are appropriate for the site.  HBI’s goal is to thoughtfully maximize sales proceeds from new housing units, which will help to off-set the high acquisition price for the property and help with the high cost of the historic church building’s restoration.

HBI anticipates announcing a series of community meetings for neighborhood input in August in hopes of understanding how current residents view the proposed plans.  Please visit 50 Cedar Street Project Page on HBI’s website regularly for project updates and meeting notices.