Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) and Corcoran have been working together to sign Letters of Assurance with residents, in an effort to guarantee that they will be able to return to their homes after redevelopment into a mixed-income neighborhood.
CHA Director Al Ewing explained that this initiative is meant to demonstrate a commitment to keeping residents in their current homes. “We started signing those with residents
about two weeks ago,” “We wanted everyone to see
that there is a commitment from us.”
Sean McReynolds of Corcoran added that the agreement is a key step in the redevelopment process. “It was
important for us the residents see we’re committed to having them return. That
is something that is usually done much further down the line. We wanted to do
it now anyway so people felt confident that commitment is there.”
Melissa Booth from the Innes Residents Association (IRA) noted that many residents are feeling reassured by the Letter. The IRA has been distributing it in both English and Spanish to encourage as many residents as possible to sign it.
“This is an important step for many families,” she said. “They’re very relieved because the suspicion
is the developers would go in and move the families and not let them back in,” “We’ve been working really hard and trying to reassure everyone. No
one wants to leave the place that they’ve been living so long.”
The signed document, which is approximately three pages long, outlines in detail the rights of residents upon their return.
“It clearly states what residents will be entitled to,” read the letter. “JJC Co. and CHA assure that all Innes
residents who are required to move for the redevelopment project will have the
right to return to a newly constructed unit in the redeveloped Innes
Apartments,”
There are two exceptions: if a household has been evicted prior to returning due to a serious offense, or if a family requires a smaller unit because of state regulations and their current unit is too large.
The letter also specifies that returning residents will have the same unit sizes as those living in market-rate housing.
“We will be treated equally,” it stated. “These newly constructed affordable housing
units will be intermixed with market-rate units,” “All units will be
interchangeable with the same quality in all apartments including finishes and
appliances such as washers and dryers.”
Both organizations expressed the hope that all residents will sign the document as soon as possible, in a gesture of good faith to the community and its residents.