Washington Street Gets a Makeover By Charles McCarthy, Board President Roslindale Village Main Street

The Roslindale community is about to be rewarded for its hard work and patience. In the past few months (after years of work by many local organizations and the City of Boston ), work has begun on transforming a major thoroughfare in the Roslindale Village business district. While a great deal of the transformation is not yet visible, Roslindale Village Main Street has been heavily advocating for these changes and is pleased to update the community on the coming transformation.

Last June, work began on a $4.5 million renovation of the interior of the municipal building on the corner of Cummins and Washington. The tenants of the building the Boston Center for Youth and Family and the Registry of Motor Vehicles eagerly await to return to a brand new building and extended programming by the fall of 2007. The “Community Center” as it is called, will offer daycare, youth programming, vacation camps, after school programming, computer classes and a host of other programs for adults. Residents are encouraged to join the Roslindale Community Center Council to help fundraise, create and expand programming at the newly renovated facility. While the City of Boston pays for daily upkeep and utilities of the building including the salaries of the basic staff, programming is the fiscal responsibility of the Council. Now is a perfect opportunity for the community to get involved and to work on programming that will meet the needs of residents. Also, the Flaherty Pool at the back of Healy Field on Washington Street (a part of the Boston Center for Youth and Family) will also undergo a much need renovation inside and out the Fall of 2007. For more info call Cynthia Johnson at 617-635-5256.

In 2005, the Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center finalized construction on a new building that straddles Washington and South Streets. This new and fully equipped facility services over 10,000 patients annually and has 7 full time primary care physicians and 2 nurse practitioners. Soon, the bottom floor of the facility will be the home of the New England Eye Institute (NEEI). New England Eye Institute is a teaching affiliate of the New England College of Optometry. By placing an emphasis on community oriented primary care, New England Eye is helping the New England College of Optometry train the next generation of optometric clinical providers and policy leaders in distinctive aspects of community and public health.

Eye care was the number one requested health care service in market research performed by the health center in the planning of the new Center in its current site/facility. Now the residents of Roslindale will not have to travel beyond their community for these much needed services. NEEI will offer comprehensive optometry and ophthalmology services (in collaboration with Boston Medical Center ), and a full array of eye glasses and contact lenses.

On the opposite corner of Cummins and Washington is a building that will also be undergoing a transformation after many years of stagnation. The MBTA Building as it is referred to because it was a power station for the trolleys that traveled up Washington Street many years ago is being purchased by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. In the past few weeks the building has been undergoing a clean out of the interior and once the purchase is completed, the BRA will pursue development based on community input for the property.

On the same block as the MBTA Building , activity has begun to take care of the abandoned gas station that has been a nasty blight on the community for a number of years now. City of Boston authorities have taken control of the property, cleaned up the area (towed vehicles, got rid of graffiti and cleaned up the brush and litter) and will soon place it into receivership. This means that the property can be considered for development.

We welcome the nice storefront improvement work done on the former Happy Hour on Washington Street . Now Robyn’s Bar and Grill, the owners Anne and Mike Reddington listened to the community via a residential survey done by Roslindale Village main Street to create a family friendly, moderately priced neighborhood eatery.

And last but not least, we are encouraged that the former Ashmont property has been purchased by a reliable developer who is actively pursuing tenants that will enhance the retail offering in the current mix of businesses.

It is hard to be patient and it is easy to criticize when it appears that little or nothing is being done. We thank all the organizations and people who have continued to believe that Roslindale is a community on the move and will continue to see exciting and innovative revitalization.

For more information about Roslindale Village Main Street call 617-327-4065 or visit www.roslindale.net.