We feel like if we don't pay attention, the neighborhood will change dramatically and our constituents will be pushed out. The hot market has also made organizing difficult. Many long-time residents moved out of the Fenway around 1996 after the defeat of rent control. It's sort of a way station on their way to buying a larger home or getting a house in the suburbs or whatever, which makes organizing particularly challenging because we don't have that stable base of people who really view the Fenway as an important place for themselves. For example, the affordable assisted living project is requiring a great deal of organization between the neighbors and the seniors and various people to get the city involved in it and make sure the thing continues on track.
Nothing is ever easy around here.
Since 1999, one of FCDC's major organizing battles has been around a famous Boston institution, Fenway Park. The home of baseball's Red Sox wants to build a new stadium with an additional 10,000 seats. Together, they developed, organized and funded a design symposium where architects, ballpark experts and urban planners from around the country created alternative plans for renovating or reconstructing Fenway Park on its existing site. FCDC's credibility as a developer helped the effort receive positive press coverage, as well as praise from several members of Boston's city council. The publicity around the new ballpark has also allowed FCDC to promote its Urban Village Plan, which it would like to develop in lieu of the new ballpark.