{"id":22,"date":"2016-05-20T16:39:13","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T16:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/mpdc\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2022-12-06T11:15:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T16:15:31","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.madison-park.org\/who-we-are\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"Our History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our History<\/span><\/h1>\n

Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC) was founded in the midst of a crisis in the 1960s.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The survival of the Lower Roxbury community was at risk. Bulldozers were demolishing hundreds of homes, churches, and businesses through the City of Boston\u2019s urban renewal program. A small, but determined, group of activists fought back. Led by community members including Ralph Smith and C. Vincent Haynes, the group mobilized residents against the further destruction of their neighborhood. They created their own vision for the area and procured the resources they needed to rebuild their once-thriving community. This effort resulted in the creation of the Lower Roxbury Community Corporation in 1966 \u2013 with Ralph Smith as its founder and first Executive Director. The organization was a community-based, non-profit that independently developed affordable housing for low and moderate-income residents \u2013 making it one of the country\u2019s first Community Development Corporations.<\/p>\n

Naming the Organization<\/span><\/p>\n

The organization was first known as Lower Roxbury Community Corporation and was later renamed Madison Park Development Corporation in honor of a local park that was a victim of the demolition. The new name staked the community\u2019s claim to the land, promoted resident-led development and supported a new vision for the neighborhood. Roxbury had experienced \u201cwhite flight\u201d \u2013 due partly to federal housing policies and discrimination. It had become a predominantly minority community comprised of African Americans, Latinos, and Cape Verdeans. It was also one of the city\u2019s poorest neighborhoods. MPDC continued its efforts to revitalize the area and, over the next 20 years, successfully developed over 500 units of affordable housing on the land originally cleared by the city.<\/p>\n

Ralph Smith\u2019s tenure as MPDC\u2019s Executive Director lasted for 23 years \u2013 during which time the 546-unit Madison Park Village development was built. In 1989, Danette Jones took over as Executive Director. She oversaw a refinancing and major rehabilitation of the older properties, purchasing a commercial building with planning for homeownership housing, and beginning the youth and resident services programs. Jeanne Pinado, the former Chief Executive Officer, assumed her role in 1998. MPDC is one of the state\u2019s largest community development corporations \u2013 as well as being among the nation\u2019s oldest \u2013 and continues its work to redevelop and revitalize the Roxbury community.<\/p>\n

Madison Park 55th Anniversary<\/span><\/h3>\n