Boston city councilor calls for mayor to replace "depleted and barely functioning" community center

In the heart of Allston's Union Square, the neighborhood's only city-run community center is now a shell of what it once was. Residents say the Jackson Mann Community Center no longer meets the neighborhood's needs.

Boston City Council President Liz Breadon, who represents Allston-Brighton, is among those calling for a new facility at the Jackson Mann site, where an elementary school closed in 2022 and services have been scaled back since the pandemic.

"The irony of it is that we're the second largest neighborhood in the city after Dorchester and we have one depleted and barely functioning community center," Breadon said.

Jackson Mann Community Center debate

The Jackson Mann complex, built in the 1970s as a full-service community school, once offered everything from daycare and after-school programs to workforce development and adult education.

Today, limited programs operate out of a second building, the former site of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf, but that infrastructure is also in rough condition.

The center currently provides adult education, including English language classes and high school equivalency programs, but residents say that's only a fraction of what's needed.

Breadon said families are often forced to leave the neighborhood to access city-run programs like youth sports.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has proposed an additional $5 million funding in next year's budget for design and feasibility work at the site. But Breadon says that's not enough, she wants a commitment and timeline to building a new center.

"At this point, we're tired. There's money for other projects in other parts of the city. And yet again, we are being left behind," she said, pointing to plans to rebuild a community center in Boston's North End.

She estimates it could cost $65 million to build a new community center comparable to projects underway in other Boston neighborhoods.

Rally to fund Allston facilty

Community members are now organizing to push City Hall for a stronger commitment, including a rally on Tuesday evening aimed at demonstrating demand for a new facility.

For residents like Nikhil Dasgupta, the issue goes beyond infrastructure. Dasgupta said it is about connection.

"It's a free space with free programming and free opportunities to meet people and feel like a community in a neighborhood," Dasgupta said. "And that's something a lot of us feel like we want more of."

Dasgupta, who moved to Allston in 2022, said many newer residents never experienced the center at its peak, but still feel its absence.

"I think we find ourselves feeling very disconnected with our communities," he said, adding that accessible public spaces can help combat isolation and strengthen civic engagement.

He also pushed back on the perception that Allston's largely renter population is less invested in the neighborhood's future.

"There are just so many people in this neighborhood who really care about how it feels to live here and who care about the future of what's possible," Dasgupta said.

For both city leaders and residents, the goal is the same: to restore a central hub that once served as a cornerstone of the community.

"It really was a really dynamic community center that served our neighborhood very well for a long time," Breadon said. "But in recent years… it's really been a tremendous loss for the neighborhood."