A new report out this month analyzes nonprofit BlueHub Capital’s nearly four decades of investment in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, examining how $147 million in financing has fueled community-driven efforts to increase access to housing, childcare, workforce training and education.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REPORT
The often overlooked community development finance sector is drawing more attention amid proposed cuts to the Department of the US Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that provide financing to people and communities typically underserved by traditional banks. Boston is home to one of the largest and oldest CDFIs in the country, BlueHub Loan Fund. The report provides a zoomed-in perspective on the positive impacts CDFIs can have in American communities through sustained, locally driven investment.
Independent experts LifeCity studied BlueHub’s impact in Roxbury, using data and interviews to explore its role in the neighborhood’s development. Their investigation found that each dollar invested leveraged an additional estimated $6.19 to support positive community outcomes through flexible, innovative lending.
Spanning 40 years and $147 million in financing, the 18-page report, titled ‘Roxbury Impact Study: Building a Healthy Community Through Concentrated Investment’ examines how BlueHub’s intentional and concentrated financing in Roxbury, made in collaboration with community organizations and local developers, fueled community-driven efforts resulting in 3,225 units of housing, 756 early childcare slots and $6.95M in home equity for homeowners once facing foreclosure.
Taking Stock: Four Decades of Change in One Neighborhood
Since 1985, BlueHub has worked to build healthy communities where low-income people live and work by channeling steady, capital investment into communities that are often overlooked by the traditional finance system. BlueHub’s approach in Roxbury is grounded in long-term capital investment shaped by the needs and priorities of local residents and offers a clear example of how place-based investment, guided by local leadership, can support lasting neighborhood change.
Located in the geographic center of Boston, Roxbury is a community of color that was home to civil rights leaders including Melnea Cass and Malcolm X. Years of exclusionary economic policies left the area struggling to attract businesses, while deteriorating buildings and environmental hazards threatened residents’ health. Without access to financing, community members and local entrepreneurs faced steep barriers to revitalizing the neighborhood and creating new spaces for growth.
“Roxbury is the cultural hub of the city. It’s the heart of Boston and this community is full of Black and brown folk bringing meaning, culture and liveliness to all that we do in the city,” said Reverend Willie Bodrick II, President and CEO of The American City Coalition. “I appreciate BlueHub’s commitment to ensure that they’re putting their capital where their values are.”
Spotlight on Success: Projects That Revitalized the Neighborhood
BlueHub has the tools to connect mission-driven developers with the financing needed to bring their projects to life. By working side by side with local developers, nonprofits, and community members, BlueHub tackled barriers to investment and opened the door to solutions rooted in the community. As BlueHub CEO Elyse Cherry put it, “It was really that on-the-ground understanding in the community and what was necessary that helped us grow and diversify.”
Across Roxbury, projects supported by BlueHub are showing up in ways that have made a real difference in the community. Bartlett Station is a former MBTA bus yard now transformed into 300+ units of housing as well as a Montessori school and a locally-owned market-slash-café. The new Franklin Cummings Tech campus in Nubian Square spans 68,000 square feet, and will feature classrooms, an advanced manufacturing center, and an automotive shop. Meanwhile, the NUBA Apartments project will expand affordable housing with 64 rental units, 42 homeownership opportunities and creative spaces for artists.
At 2147 Washington Street, affordable apartments and artist workspaces sit alongside an art gallery and a new home for Haley House Bakery Café. And across the street, Nubian Square Ascends, a parking lot will become a 365,000-square-foot hub for innovation and the arts, featuring a lab building, a culinary marketplace, a performing arts center, artist housing and cultural spaces that anchor Roxbury as a center of creativity and opportunity.
“We believe that if we get folks meaningful good jobs and meaningful careers then they have an opportunity to stay in this neighborhood,” said Reverend Bodrick. “That’s really been our focus – to make sure that the folks in this neighborhood can stay in this neighborhood. I’m glad that they [BlueHub] are investing in Franklin Cummings Tech, in Nubian Ascends and Haley House. They are deeply invested in this community.”
In addition to financing innovative and community-centered development projects, BlueHub has helped 19 Roxbury residents avoid foreclosure through its SUN initiative. Born out of the 2008 financial crisis, BlueHub SUN helps homeowners avoid foreclosure by refinancing or purchasing their homes and selling it back to them with mortgages they can afford. In Roxbury, BlueHub SUN has provided over $4 million in loans and enabled homeowners to earn nearly $7 million in home equity that otherwise would have been lost to foreclosure and eviction.
What’s Next? Charting a Course for the Next 40 Years
Looking back on BlueHub’s longstanding history of community development in Roxbury, Cherry reflected, “One of the best things about what we’ve done is that we’ve never changed our mission: to build healthy communities where low-income people live and work. We thought about it a lot at the beginning, and it’s served us well all these years. We’re proud of the work we’ve done.”
“I hope [Roxbury] continues to prosper, and we continue to make meaningful investments in the community, not only in housing but helping to change people’s lives within the community by providing resources,” Adler Bernadin, Owner of Norfolk Development and Lavi Investments said.
BlueHub is committed to working alongside partners and organizations throughout the community to ensure that the Roxbury neighborhood can thrive for generations to come. Cherry shared her vision for the future of Roxbury: “What I hope for the future of all of our communities, no matter their income level, is that they are places that are safe and healthy and where people want to live.” BlueHub has spent 40 years collaborating to develop innovative solutions to social problems, and it is well-positioned to meet future challenges alongside communities for years to come.
