MMHC closure raises concern over historic building's fate

Among the major issues surrounding the move and future redevelopment of the Massachusetts Mental Health Center is that the main, 1912-building is listed on the State Register of Historic Places.

This is where the Friends of Historic Mission Hill come in.

According to Alison Pultinas, a longtime member of the group and resident of Mission Hill, FHMH is "a resident-based group actively concerned with issues affecting the preservation of our neighborhood's historic buildings and streetscapes."

The group's attendance at the community advisory meetings concerning the future of the center, as well as Pultinas's letter-writing campaign to the Division of Capital Asset Management, caused a turn of events that Pultinas argues might not have happened otherwise.

"Originally," she said, "the plan [of the Division of Capital Asset Management] was to demolish everything. It was just the simplest thing for them."

Pultinas said that Robin Luna, the Boston Redevelopment Authority's project manager for the center's site, told community members that when comparing the costs between preserving the buildings and demolishing them, it was a wash. Pultinas contends that no one was ever shown the actual numbers.

Now that state officials have announced that the center will be temporarily relocated, a factor that was never mentioned in meetings with the community, Pultinas said she is pessimistic about the future development.

"In the end, this is just a huge money-maker for DCAM," she said, "but now, we're just concerned with the issues surrounding the potential loss of the connection between Mass. Mental and our community."

With the site soon to be unoccupied, Pultinas said she worries about the potential for vandalism and neglect of the building.

"I've seen so many buildings in this neighborhood deteriorate over the years," she said, "I don't know if I can stand back and watch this one do the same."

MARTHA BARTLE