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Council approves $5 million Nazaro Community Center renovation grant and Age Strong fund order
Summary
After a committee hearing with administration officials, the Council accepted committee reports and passed orders to accept federal and donor grants to renovate the Nazaro Community Center and to expand the Age Strong universal fund.
The Boston City Council on Feb. 5 accepted committee reports and approved two funding orders tied to senior and community center services: Docket 0109, a $5,000,000 grant for renovation of the Nazaro Community Center in the North End; and Docket 0111, a $150,000 donor-funded Age Strong Universal Fund order to support senior center programs.
Both dockets were brought forward by the Committee on Strong Women, Families, and Communities and recommended for passage by Councilor Erin Murphy, the committee chair. Murphy described testimony heard at a committee hearing on Jan. 30 from city officials, including Eamon Shelton, Commissioner of Property Management, and others who outlined the project scope, schedule and funding sources. The administration said the renovation would address structural needs, modernize building systems, roof and drainage, and improve accessibility.
"The administration explained the history of the Nazaro Center and the project's construction goals and sustainability efforts," Murphy said at the council meeting. The administration told the committee the project would move into a five month design phase and expected construction to begin in September 2025. Committee testimony also covered programming continuity and the possibility of temporarily relocating activities to other community centers to minimize disruption.
On Docket 0111, the committee heard how the Age Strong Universal Fund collects and uses small donations to support senior centers. Murphy said the fund is managed collaboratively with the auditing department and distributes funds annually across senior centers as needed; the committee asked about public accessibility of fund allocations and was told that internal records track the donations but do not currently appear on a public platform.
The council accepted the committee reports and passed both dockets by voice vote during the meeting.
Ending note: With federal and donor funds approved, the Nazaro renovation project will move to design and then construction if schedules and contracting proceed as described by the administration.
