Paraclete Inc. and South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation are pleased to announce that they have entered into a purchase agreement to preserve the former St. Augustine’s convent, now known as McDevitt Hall, and convert the building into affordable apartments for seniors. The former St. Augustine’s convent on E Street has most recently been used by the Paraclete for its academic enrichment programs.

270 W. Second Street is currently a fish processing plant that has been a blight on the neighborhood for decades.

The site owner is proposing a five-story, 81-unit building on the site and has agreed to only the bare minimum 13 percent of Inclusionary Development (IDP) Units. South Boston NDC is pushing for 17 percent IDP units.

The South Boston neighborhood, located a few miles from downtown Boston, is well known as a working-class area and home to a large community of Irish immigrants and their descendants. The neighborhood also has experienced significant levels of gentrification and displacement over the past two decades. To provide longtime area residents with an affordable housing option in their community, the South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation (South Boston NDC) opened O’Connor Way in summer 2021, providing 46 one-bedroom apartments affordable to seniors aged 62 and above who earn no more than 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The project is notable for the way South Boston NDC leveraged existing affordable housing assets, policies, and other local resources to overcome gentrification- and pandemic-related challenges and open O’Connor Way.

Despite a building boom in Boston, the city is facing an affordable housing crisis. According to the City of Boston website, about 65 percent are renters, and more than half put upwards of 30 percent of their income toward rent.

Local experts on GBH's Basic Black said gentrification is having a devastating impact on the local housing market, leading many people of color to head out of the city and settle in more affordable locations.

As Earth Day approaches on April 22, here are a few ideas on how you can honor and celebrate the planet. Earth Day 2022 marks the 52nd anniversary of this holiday; this year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet.”

Christine Kelly has always loved helping people.

As a teacher, she enjoyed working with and serving families. She now brings that dedication to her part-time role as residential coordinator for Patriot Homes, South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation’s veterans housing.