On Brookline

This afternoon and evening, the Brookline Board of Selectmen will take public comment on the question of gifting the Boston Archdiocese an additional $1.5 million in affordable housing trust funds for its development project at the former St. Aidan’s Church.

For the non-indoctrinated, a warning: a public comment exercise in Brookline consists of the public raising arguments so that the Board hearing them can dismiss them out of hand. The decision has likely been made (though it is slightly cathartic to have been on record as warning against this, or any other, folly.)

Neverthertheless, there are significant questions going into today’s hearing. Two members of the Board of Selectmen - Robert Allen and Nancy Daly - are members of the parish that once owned the property at St. Aidan’s and sold it to the Archdiocese. Is there a conflict of interest among these two on the question? Probably. But these would be the last two people to stand on ethic and recuse themselves from voting.

Indeed, this project is a case study on mixing the affairs of a religious organization with those of the public. Make no mistake, in extending a $1.5 million “loan” to the Archdiocese, the Town will be giving a gift to a Church. At best the property at St. Aidan’s is worth $3 million, but the Town will have lent $6 million to the developer for the affordable housing aspects of the project.

The Archdiocese has set up legal entities that shield them from liability in the event of a loan default; and to give the impression that a non-profit developer is behind the project. The latter was put to the lie when St. Mary’s Parish (that of Allen and Daly) secured from the developer three “affordable units” for Catholics only.

As if this weren’t troubling enough, the project is seriously flawed in its design and its economics. Less than two weeks ago, a major bombshell was dropped by the Archdiocese’s project manager, Lisa Alberghini. On June 15th, Alberghini told Brookline’s Housing Advisory Board that the luxury condo units in the Church are expected to “break even.” This, though the HAB distributed a pro forma that said the proceeds from those units would come in around $10 million.

I asked HAB Chairman Roger Blood to explain the $10 million discrepancy and received no response. One is needed, though, because those millions are counted towards the construction financing that includes the Town’s $1.5 million gift.

Problems abound. There’s not enough parking for the affordable rental units. There’s no real sense at this point whether the building at the site will be four floors or five floors. There’s difficulty in getting subcontractors to bid on the project and a new general contractor is taking over.

The St. Aidan’s project amounts to a lack of affordable housing leadership in Brookline. In fact, it’s reasonable to conclude that St. Aidan’s is an exercise in burning through a trust fund to ensure that little affordable housing will result. Before construction begins, the subsidy per affordable unit at St. Aidan’s hovers around $170 thousand. And you can bet that amount will climb after construction gets underway.

But all other cynicisms pale to the fear campaign being conducted by Selectman Daly on behalf of the Archdiocese. Daly says, “that she’s amazed how the St. Aidan’s opponents don’t see that a more dense 40B project would take the place of (the St. Aidan’s project).”

That’s a risk alright. And so is risk of the church building being hit by a meteorite. As far as I know, other developers who have looked at that site have no plans to create a dense 40B project. And it’s a chilling prospect that Daly bases a decision concerning the use of $6 million in public assets on something that might happen.

St. Aidan’s is a faith based project in every sense. It inappropriately deploys public funds to a religious organization. It has been planned and financed on nothing more than an abiding belief that things will work out. And, worst of all, those who don’t share that belief are explained away as pagans of doom.

This is Brookline, circa 2007. God help us.