Franklin Institute move could boost Dudley Square

The Benjamin Franklin Technical Institute, with a long history of serving students of color, is selling its South End location and moving to Dudley Square in Roxbury, something administrators hope will be a boon to an area trying to stave off gentrification.

“Dudley Square is an area where a lot of people are thinking about as a critical location for attacking what I think of as one of Boston’s primary issues: the tremendous gap between the rich and poor,” said Franklin president Tony Benoit. “We are looking at how to take advantage of the great stuff going on in Boston and make it more available to the average people in Boston.’

The Franklin Institute is privately funded technical college that serves about 500 students. Of those students, 70% are minorities and a little more than half are first generation college students.

The institute purchased 1.25 acres for $6 million at 1011 Harrison Ave., the site of the old Harrison Supply Co. that has been vacant for years. It’s a site that Benoit said provides better access for students, most of whom come from Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan, and could serve as an economic engine for a square on the brink of change.

“We are providing opportunity for people who often are not on a path that has a lot of opportunity and providing workers for industries in desperate need of skilled workers,” Benoit said.

Dudley Square has caught headlines this year as residents of the predominantly black neighborhood have led the charge to stave off gentrification seeping in from the neighboring whiter and richer South End.

A Nov. 5 ballot will ask residents to support changing the name of Dudley Square to Nubian Square, which proponents say better characterizes the neighborhood’s historically black roots.

Mayor Martin Walsh said he’s planning to meet with the technical college’s administration soon, and said the new location right in Dudley Square and near public transportation will serve the area and its people well.

“I think bringing a higher-learning institution to Dudley is amazing,” Walsh said after an unrelated event. “They’re preparing people for the jobs — the technical jobs of the future, and the mechanical jobs and other jobs of the future. It’ll be a great fit in the neighborhood.”

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2nf9b5o