Agency at Center of building battle on Broad

LYNN – An agreement between a downtown developer and a local nonprofit agency to house formerly homeless families in Broad Street apartments “is not conducive to the planning vision” city officials have for downtown, City Council President Daniel F. Cahill said Wednesday.Cahill wants representatives of The Mayo Group to come to the council’s Nov. 18 meeting in City Hall and answer questions about its four-building, $4 million Broad Street renovation project.”The development on Broad Street was described to us as a market-rate condominium opportunity on a street we are trying to breathe new life into. Now we come to find out it is housing for families in a state program run by Centerboard,” said Cahill.Centerboard is an agency “focused on helping families to succeed,” according to its website. Executive Director Mark DeJoie said Centerboard signed a master lease two weeks ago with Advanced Realty Management – the property management division of The Mayo Group – to rent 30 apartments at 137 Broad St., one of the buildings renovated during the last year by Mayo.DeJoie said some of the residents are from Lynn, some are not, and they are all formerly homeless. He said 12 Centerboard workers are assigned to work in the building and help the families become financially self-sufficient.”Our job is to work with them to get help to move on out of the shelter system and don’t come back,” he said.DeJoie said state tax dollars provided to Centerboard pay to house the residents. Mayo vice president Joseph Donovan said Centerboard’s agreement with Advanced Realty calls for the agency to make a monthly payment equivalent to market-rate rent, though he would not specify the payment amount.Donovan said 16 other apartments in the renovated buildings are being rented at local market-rate rents, and added that Advanced Realty Management is preparing to rent nine commercial storefronts in the buildings.”Mayo and Advanced are committed to continued improvement and presence in downtown Lynn,” Donovan said.But city Economic Development and Industrial Corporation Executive Director James M. Cowdell called housing formerly homeless families at 137 Broad St. “exactly what we don’t need in the middle of downtown.””We need people with disposable income – that’s in line with economic growth downtown,” he said.Cowdell and Cahill said planning and discussions for the downtown area, including Broad Street, have focused on attracting residents who commute in and out of Boston and artists looking for live-work space.Donovan said he will research Mayo’s records of its initial council discussions to find “any specific requirements on tenancy.”Donovan and DeJoie described Centerboard as an agency involved for years in housing-assistance programs. DeJoie said the Broad Street building is one of 10 across the city inhabited by residents getting Centerboard’s assistance in establishing financial independence and finding longer-term housing.DeJoie said the Broad Street residents will live in the building four to seven months before moving, but Centerboard counselors will be a longer-term presence working and spending money downtown.”Is it bringing the vitality councilors are looking for? I don’t know,” DeJoie said.Cahill said “Lynn opens its arms for everyone, but we also are trying to maximize residential and commercial property values. This program does not work well with that view,” he said.An attempt to reach Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy was unsuccessful.