FITCHBURG – A city housing project over a dozen years in the making was celebrated on Thursday.
Scores of people gathered for the Fitchburg Arts Community ribbon-cutting on Aug. 28. The project spearheaded by NewVue Communities transformed three historical buildings into artist-preferred housing, made possible thanks to more than $21 million in federal housing funds along with local and state funding.
“Thanks to all of you for making this possible,” said NewVue Communities Executive Director Marc Dohan. “We take on difficult projects that no other developers will.”
He called the ribbon-cutting “a day of celebration and success” and thanked the many people, organizations, departments, and local and state officials who helped bring the $46 million project to fruition, including Mayor Sam Squailia, Congresswoman Lori Trahan, State Sen. John Cronin, State Rep. Mike Kushmerek, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus, and others.
Dolan went on to say that while the state is “in the midst of a housing crisis,” NewVue is proud to be part of providing “homes for 68 families in the heart of the city”
“We hope residents find their voices to reimagine this neighborhood,” he said of the project whose construction broke in the fall of 2023 and leasing began this past March.
NewVue Communities Board Member Derek Craig opened the program by saying “we are thrilled that everyone can be here” and shared that he recently moved into the neighborhood the Fitchburg Arts Community is located in.
“You can tell there’s more cohesion, there’s more community … you’re seeing a different spark,” Craig said.
Memorabilia including news clippings and yearbooks from B.F. Brown Middle School were displayed on a table at the affair held in the former school, one of three long-time vacant buildings brought back to life as part of the housing project – two of which date back to the 1800s. Squailia disclosed that the former school is her alma mater and said the Fitchburg Arts Community “represents a turning point in how we preserve our past while building our future … vision meets persistence.”
“They have been renewed with care and imagination,” she said of the trio of buildings that also includes the historic city stable and Academy Street School Annex that now house artist preferred units, one-, two-, or three-bedroom apartments, along with artist workspaces.
“This is part of a larger movement in Fitchburg,” Squailia said. “We are not finished. We have a lot more to do.”
Trahan praised Dohan and his NewVue team who “saw the vision in this incredible space” as well as the “coalition of community partners” who worked together to make the dream a reality. She acknowledged local and state official including Squailia, Cronin, and Kushmerek for their efforts in “delivering transformative investments” and said she is “proud of the over $21 million in federal funding” she and others helped secure.
“Let the Fitchburg Arts Community serve as a model,” Trahan said of the housing project that she called “a huge win.”
Cronin thanked Dohan for his “vision and grit” along with the Fitchburg City Council for voting years ago to support the project and other people and entities who have also encouraged it in tangible ways. He then conveyed that the Fitchburg Arts Community is part of a bigger plan that involves “revitalizing gateway cities,” such as Fitchburg.
“There is an undeniable momentum in the city,” Cronin said.
Kushmerek thanked Augustus for his continued support on behalf of the Healey-Driscoll administration, adding that Dohan and NewVue’s tenacity is “a symbol of Fitchburg’s resurgence.”
“They have met the moment head-on,” Kushmerek said of the dedicated NewVue Communities team.
A representative of U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren read a letter from the politicians congratulating everyone involved in “this remarkable milestone.”
“The Fitchburg Arts Community is a prime example of the kind of project the federal government can and should support,” the letter stated.
Fitchburg Art Museum Director Nick Capasso disclosed that just a few months after he came on board with the entity that is a Fitchburg Arts Community partner and literal neighbor, Dohan knocked on his door and “pitched the idea of a live/work space for artists.” Capasso said they are thrilled to be part of the project that has “saved three beautiful, historic structures” that were “preserved with our partners.”
Before he spoke, Augustus, who Dohan said, “helped secure critical funding for this project,” congratulated Dohan and the NewVue team along with all those who have had “the tenacity and vision to put together a project of this capacity.”
“Fitchburg is on a roll. You are literally using every single tool in the toolbox,” Augustus said. “You can literally see the energy and momentum happening in this community.”
He vowed that the Healey-Driscoll administration and state policy-makers will continue to be “partners with the City of Fitchburg.”
“We are with you for the long haul.”
