Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros is pleased to announce that multiple Community Preservation projects were funded in the past 12 months totaling over $4.5 million.
The Community Preservation Act funds historic preservation, affordable housing, open space and recreation projects that maintain Braintree’s unique character and natural and historic resources.
“I want to thank the Community Preservation Committee for their continued hard work and due diligence in utilizing our Town’s Community Preservation funds for projects throughout our town,” said Mayor Kokoros. “These great projects in our community include open space and recreation projects, sustainability projects, combatting climate change and increasing the number of affordable housing units in our town.”
Recently funded projects included Windjammer Cove Affordable Housing Conversion, Watson Park Shoreline Restoration, Daughraty Gym Pickleball and Basketball Courts, Elm Street Cemetery Restoration, Nathan Buliga Street Hockey Courts, Hollis and Watson Ballfield Design and Smelt Brook Restoration.
“The Community Preservation Committee was pleased to be able to recommend some wonderful projects this year for the betterment of the entire Braintree community,” said Dr. Peter Kurzberg, Community Preservation Committee Chairman.
Windjammer Cove is a unique partnership that ensures 19 rental units in this privately owned development are permanently affordable to lower income persons and working families.
Watson Park Shoreline Restoration is an innovative design to make the park climate change resilient for several decades. This project leveraged over $750,000 in addition to Community Preservation funds.
The Braintree Recreation Department opened new pickleball and basketball courts behind the Daughraty Gym in June. This project was funded with $443,000 in Community Preservation funds. Elm Street Cemetery restoration is underway to preserve several mounded tombs and headstones at this important landmark property and street hockey courts, baseball fields and Smelt Brook fish passage improvements are all under design.
Braintree adopted the Community Preservation Act in 2002, one of the first communities in the Commonwealth to do so. Since that time $16 million has been raised locally through the CPA while funding over seventy housing, historic, recreation and open space projects.
The Community Preservation Committee will be reviewing these projects in greater detail, as well as soliciting input from the public, at its annual meeting to be held Monday, September 19th at 5PM in the Cahill Auditorium at Braintree Town Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.