Mayor Proposes Borrowing $10.5 Million for Pope John

Mayor Carlo DeMaria has proposed to the City Council to borrow $10.5 million to purchase the campus of the recently-closed Pope John High School on upper Broadway.

The matter came too late for Independent deadlines, but was on the Council agenda for Monday night, Nov. 25. The mayor had proposed last summer to buy the campus in order to create affordable, senior housing.

The item on the agenda was the first tangible step in making the idea into a plan.

Mayor DeMaria was in Boston on Monday to talk with state housing officials about the plan for Pope John, and he was to meet with the Council later in the evening.

The mayor has said he thinks it is time for the City to step up and help address the housing crisis with direct action. His plan calls for buying the property, and putting it out in a Request for Proposals. The hope would be a non-profit developer would be interested in building the affordable housing on the sprawling campus.

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