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The mayor also announced a community meeting Thursday, May 28 at 6 p.m. at Jackson Mann, Allston-Brighton’s only community center.
A view of the Jackson Mann Community Center in Allston. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe
A city-commissioned study found that the reconstruction of the Jackson Mann Community Center in Allston could feasibly include housing as a separate building, Mayor Michelle Wu said, as she announced a community meeting planned for next week to discuss the site’s “next chapter.”
” The Jackson Mann has been a cornerstone of the community for nearly fifty years, and we have been moving forward with planning for the next chapter of this important asset,” Wu wrote in a letter to the community last week.
Hundreds rallied in front of the community center last month to demand tens of thousands more in funding for Allston-Brighton’s only city-run community center after Wu’s five-year capital budget plan included just $10 million for Jackson Mann.
That allocated $10 million is funding for the design and permitting phase of the project, Wu said in the letter. The mayor also announced a community meeting planned for 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 28 at Jackson Mann.
“Boston is in a challenging budget moment, but we are continuing to plan for Jackson Mann’s redevelopment,” Wu wrote in the letter. “After we determine the mix of uses that will be housed on this site, the City will proceed to design. As the project advances and cost estimates are completed, the allotment in the capital plan will grow.”
Wu’s letter also said that the cost of design, $10 million in this case, typically represents about 10 percent of the project’s total cost, and authorizations for capital projects “are not bound by fiscal year, so previous funding rolls over and may be used in future years.”
In April, Wu revealed her $4.9 billion budget proposal for the next fiscal year, amid a “difficult” financial moment. The city is facing a nearly $50 million budget deficit this year and as many as 400 Boston Public Schools positions could be cut next year.
The community center is in dire need of help, with scant programming and parts of the building deemed unsafe. Residents are not allowed to use the front door of Jackson Mann, which is recommended for demolition. The new entrance, open between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays only, is behind the old school on Armington Street. Programming is
Since two Boston schools previously located at the site have left, Jackson Mann has sat without a new plan for years. Plans to build a new school there appear to have stalled, while most of the 1974 building was recommended for demolition, according to a 2019 engineering report by BPS.
The Jackson Mann K-8 school closed in 2022, while the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, connected by a skybridge, was in a much larger building on Armington Street before moving to Charlestown in 2024.
Wu pointed to a new public assets study released last month, which determined that housing will likely be in a separate building rather than stacked above a community center. At the meeting next week, the city will walk through the study’s results and potential for mixed use at the building.
The study test-fitted a Allston-Brighton community center, an elementary school, and housing on the site, including testing options for up to two pools and more than 700 seats in a K-6 school.
“The Jackson Mann will not be a simple rebuild. The parcels involved are large enough to support more than one use,” Wu wrote. “Residents have also advocated for housing to be added onsite to address critical housing affordability challenges in the community.”
The city is “exploring” whether other city-owned buildings in Allston-Brighton could help address the lack of programming for youth and families as the design and construction phase gets underway.
Boston City Council President Liz Breadon, who represents Allston-Brighton, promoted the meeting, hosted by BCYF, the city’s Public Facilities Department, and architecture firm Utile.
“I’m looking forward to seeing a strong turnout from the Allston-Brighton community,” the councilor said.
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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