312 Border Street
Owner/Developer: East Boston Community Development Corporation
Co-Sponsor: East Boston Community Health Centers, Inc.
Architect: Michael Angelo Interbartolo, Jr. AIA
Construction: CWC Builders
Historic Preservation Consultant: Tremont Preservation Services, LLC

Built in 1897, the Barnes School first served as an East Boston high school, and later became a middle school. In the mid-1980s, the school was closed and left without heat or regular maintenance for decades. The abandoned school became a magnet for graffiti, break-ins and loitering. Beginning in 2006, the building, which resembles an Italian palazzo, underwent a vast transformation from a neglected school building to a pristine elderly housing complex. The building was returned to its original turn of the century magnificence with its marble paneled walls, terrazzo floors, vaulted plaster ceilings and abundant ornamental plaster. The building’s exterior underwent extensive masonry restoration and the decorative fencing was repaired. Led by Albert Caldarelli of the East Boston Community Development Corporation, and John Cradock of the East Boston Health Centers, the project was made possible by hard work and creative financing, including substantial support from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Federal Historic Rehabilitation tax credits. The project includes a health center, a generous community space and 74 apartments for low-income seniors, some of whom attended the Barnes School as students.

Courtesy of J. D. Sloan