OWNERSHIP
CONDITIONS
PLANNING PROCESSES

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OWNERSHIP:
City of Boston

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CONDITIONS:
South of Morton Street, Blue Hill Avenue has a string of small commercial businesses and storefront churches to the east. To the west, the Avenue is dominated by land owned and being developed by Morning Star Baptist Church, as well as a strip of vacant industrial space. Bright new businesses such as Lenny's Bakery and Restaurant are evidence that commercial prospects in the area are improving, just as they have improved along other sections of Blue Hill Avenue to the north and south. Other businesses in the area include a check-cash service, manicurist, hair salon, small restaurants, and a Mobil Station and grocer. Some storefronts are vacant in November 2002, and many are covered in metal grates.

All three churches in this section of Blue Hill Avenue are Baptist. With more than 1,800 members, Morning Star church is far and away the largest. The church is developing much of the vacant land on the street with a new church building, and in the summer of 2002 pre-construction work for the facility was well underway. The church owns substantial property in the area, including a strip of vacant land on the uplands of Ormond Street with views over Blue Hill Avenue.

The vacant industrial land includes a long empty warehouse owned by Succah LLC, and another property owned by the same organization that is up for sale. In July 2002, the long warehouse is still lit but does not appear to be in use. Some sections of the warehouse are open and filled with junk. The adjacent lot and building are in poor condition, and both sites attract dumping. The fate of the long thin industrial warehouse and the second industrial building and lot immediately south of the church along Blue Hill Avenue will undoubtedly have an impact on the Wellington Hill neighborhood that is adjacent to it.

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PLANNING PROCESSES:
Long-range plans at Morning Star Baptist Church call for a bookstore, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, computer training for youth and seniors, and skills development for single parents.

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