4th Annual Prattville Movie Night!

The Chelsea Housing Authority co-hosted the 4th annual Prattville movie night two weeks ago with the City of Chelsea and the Prattville Resident Council. In addition to a public showing of the Mario movie there was a resident BBQ along with a meeting with residents and neighbors where questions could be asked of the Fitzpatrick and Prattville redevelopment project.

During the meeting CHA, in conjunction with our redevelopment partners Joseph J. Corcoran Company (JJC) and the John M Corcoran Company (JMC) we launched “The Pratt”. At the event, the team answered questions from the audience, discussed the process moving forward with residents and went over our interactive website. Our team is being proactive in reaching out to the residents and neighborhoods so we can gather input and concerns as we form our plans for the site with a goal of addressing pre-existing traffic conditions, mitigating flooding from Mill Creek and bringing resources to the neighborhood. With assistance from the City of Chelsea and our State Delegation we are working on building a vision that not only improves the lives of our residents but also improve the quality of life for the neighborhood as well.

During this process we are working to get input from all neighbors and of course resident leaders like Rosa Portillo and the members of the Prattville and Fitzpatrick Resident Council, neighborhood leaders like former Alderman Bob Borden and city leaders like City Councillor Todd Taylor, Leo Robinson, and City Manager Fidel Maltez. The Pratt is about bringing our community together and lifting up everyone. CHA Executive Director Paul Nowicki, joined by staff and partners addressed resident concerns and questions one by one.

Everyone enjoyed the evening despite a sporadic rain shower, but advance planning meant tents were waiting for residents to wait out the rain shower and attendees were treated with a rainbow that appeared right as the speakers took to the microphone. Our residents and partners waited out the rain and were entertained by a prize giveaway for resident children by Prattville and Fitzpatrick Resident Council President Rosa Portillo who was joined by none other than Mario and Luigi for the occasion. Many children left with the prizes from the Resident Council but no child left empty handed thanks to a backpack giveaway hosted by JJC and JMC! Families left with veggies courtesy of La Colaborativa and enjoyed ice cream from the Copsicle police ice cream truck.

As part of the build up to the redevelopment a dedicated website built around communication has been created, www.theprattchelsea.org, where residents can find out information about the redevelopment and proactively reach out with questions and concerns. The email address info@theprattchelsea.org is received directly by CHA Executive Director Paul Nowicki and other key staff who have been responding to emails very quickly. In addition the site features a dialogue box that also goes right to the leadership of the redevelopment and a running blog broken down by category for topics that will interest our residents, our neighbors and those curious about transportation. The site is designed to be a one stop shop for information as we move forward with the project. Director of Operations Matt Frank walked residents through the site and blog and explained how to reach out with questions and concerns.

It is still very early in the process but the Chelsea Housing Authority wanted to bring our residents and neighbors to the table early and will continue to do so every step of the way.