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Welcoming the West Newton Rutland Apartments to Villa Victoria

Affordable housing is at the core of IBA’s work. Our commitment to providing not just a home, but a community continues as strong as ever in 2019. As you may know, we recently added new affordable housing units to our existing Villa Victoria community.

Mayra I. Negrón-Rivera, IBA’s Chief Operating Officer, spoke with us about IBA’s role in the West Newton Rutland Apartments. Before diving into this specific housing, Mayra gave a brief history of IBA’s real estate arm. IBA is dedicated to not only providing quality affordable housing to individuals who need it, but providing services to make sure they have more than just a place to live. Compared to other affordable housing providers, IBA aims to give residents more services, such as a Bilingual Preschool program, Youth and Afterschool programs, Resident Services Program, College and Financial Empowerment Program and Arts Programming right here in their backyard.

Besides the general programming open to all residents, our Resident Services Coordinators work with residents and property managers to make sure residents are not only finding all needed resources, but are able to preserve their apartment. Residents may face financial challenges, but Resident Services Coordinators help work through these challenges, as it is our mission to provide affordable housing, not to evict our families.

For the residents of the West Newton Rutland Apartments, Mayra said the renovations will “bring the apartments to life,” with better physical spaces, as well as all the opportunities that come with being part of the Villa Victoria community. She mentioned that other than the building renovations, IBA is paying close attention to the needs of residents. As part of the Villa Victoria community, the proximity to the O’Day Playground will only benefit those who spend time there, making it safer for everyone. Additionally, there will be more security for the property to help those living in the apartments feel safe and comfortable. We are aiming to do monthly meetings with new residents to welcome them to our community and keep them informed of all resources available for them including resident services, food access and other programing.

In addition, we sat down with Nina Schwarzschild, the Project Manager for this acquisition. As a real estate development consultant, she helps IBA purchase and develop more affordable housing. In her role as Project Manager, she structured and arranged financing, oversaw the design and construction teams, and made sure all necessary permits were in place. Known as the West Newton Rutland Apartments, we are preserving 146 units for residents already living there, as well as rehabilitating and opening 11 new units that were previously offline. She explained that by the end of 2020, the planned renovations include:

• Exterior masonry
• New windows at roof dormer levels
• New exterior doors
• New roof
• New HVAC
• New fire alarm and sprinklers (there are none currently)
• New accessibility ramps

Along with many other updates, such as bathrooms, kitchens, and more. IBA’s dedication to providing affordable housing in Boston is as strong today as it was 50 years ago. Our goal has always been to provide more than just a home, it has been to build a
community. We are proud to welcome the West Newton Rutland Apartments to our Villa Victoria neighborhood, and to continue developing and advocating for affordable housing in our city.

For more information on how you can support IBA, please visit our page: http://www.ibaboston.org/donat...

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