Back of the Hill CDC groundbreaking speech delivered by Chris Norwood

We are here to give thanks. And to lend perspective.

The candidates for our thanks are many: They include such public folk as Rep. Fitzgerald, Governor Dukakis, Mayor Flynn and Councilor Scondras. We are well aware of their respective contributions. Everything that went on in our negotiations with the Lahey Clinic occurred in the context of state and local governments sympathetic to affordable housing. And that made all the difference.

Less visible but no less important are others who have supported Back of the Hill CDC over the years, primarily EOCD in the public sector and episcopal City Mission in the private sector. We could not have existed as a viable community development corporation without their continued help. Again, our thanks.

For perspective, I would like to highlight a recent piece of our history.

In July, 1985, the Lahey Clinic informed the Back of the Hill CDC that they were breaking off site control negotiations with us and were about to accept an offer from an unnamed developer.

We had absolutely no legal claim on the Clinic, and they had the foresight to move to Burlington. It felt strange to have to take their shuttle bus to picket them.

Nevertheless, we were able to generate enough media attention to generate enough political muscle to buy enough time for the Clinic to rethink its position.

The result is a development that is compatible with our historic goals: Back of the Hill CDC has always sought a solidly constructed, integrated, mixed-income family development featuring owner-occupancy with long term anti-speculation covenants.

That is what we fought for then. And that is what we celebrate now.

But how did we get such media attention? Why did the city and the state take our concerns so seriously? Why did the Clinic even both to warn us of their intent to sell the land to another developer?

The answer lies in the unsung efforts of our long suffering Board members and Mission Hill friends. They are the ones who attended countless meetings, pickets, petition drives and demonstrations, here, downtown and in Burlington. They are the ones who hammered out the social agenda that is literally being created here today. Their efforts are what ultimately set in motion the complex chain of events whose last link we celebrate today.

We celebrate the marriage of prevailing wages with affordable housing. We celebrate the marriage of a community group and a union’s shared vision with a housing reality.

And we celebrate our next development – on the remaining vacant land on Heath Street. We’ll see you there at yet another groundbreaking!

Thank you all once again.