Boston Housing Authority is Getting More Energy Efficient

$63 million worth of energy efficient upgrades will go into Boston Housing Authority facilities across Boston as a result of a project labor agreement that was recently signed. The PLA or project labor agreement between the Building and Construction Trades Council of the Metropolitan District (MBBTC) called Ameresco and the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is the first PLA for public housing of its kind since the executive order signed by President Obama that encourages the use of PLAs with large construction projects. The project was first announced a year ago and will involved nearly 4,300 apartments in 13 federal Boston developments. It’s expected to save taxpayers over $56 million over the span of 20 years. The project includes the following Boston developments: Bromley Park and Heath Street in Jamaica Plain, Holgate and Whittier Street in Roxbury, Lenox Street in the South End/Lower Roxbury, Old Colony in South Boston, Roslyn Apartments in Roslindale, Commonwealth and Washington Street in Brighton, Franklin Field and Pasciucco in Dorchester, Torre Unidad in the South End, and the Charlestown development in Charlestown.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino stated,

“In this economy we need agreements like this to keep construction going, get people trained and working. I’m proud to be able to create good paying union jobs for Boston residents.”

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan said of the project, “Boston’s Project Labor Agreement will create hundreds of jobs for local union workers, public housing residents and small and minority owned businesses, which is exactly why the Obama administration is actively supporting these agreements across the country as a key step to winning the future.” The project also includes the creation of a pre-apprenticeship program, which will be available to BHA public housing and Section 8 residents, YouthBuild participants that are eligible and extremely low-income residents of Boston. Graduates of the program will receive direct entry slots into Building and Construction Trades Council apprenticeship opportunities.