Parkside Manor
Apartments
1981 Groundbreaking - Affordable Senior
Housing
Parkside Manor is a 77-unit multi-level Senior Housing apartment building located at 1306 Brookline Boulevard. The complex is in East Brookline, on the lower end of the boulevard along Breining Street and near Brookline Park. Parkside Manor opened in October 1982. It was constructed on land that was once the site of the East Brookline Shopping Center that included an Open Pantry Market, a pharmacy, a grocery store and a laundramat. Mayor Richard S. Caligiuri and the Pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, Father John McMahon were among the guests that spoke before the many dignitairies in attendance took up the ceremonial shovels at the October 25, 1981 groundbreaking for the Parkside Manor senior citizen highrise apartments in East Brookline. A coalition of six local churches, in cooperation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (H.U.D.), combined resources to develop the $3,700,000 complex. In addition to the apartments, a 2500 square foot Open Pantry market would be built on the lower level. Located at the corner of Breining Street and Brookline Boulevard, this was a vital step towards affordable senior housing in Brookline. In addition to Parkside Manor, the Brookline Terrace apartments, renamed Mazza Pavilion, located on the 900 block of Brookline Boulevard in the main commercial district, was also in the beginning stages of construction. The East Brookline Shopping Center, where the ceremony took place, had stood since the late-1940s and was once a thriving center of commerce. In recent years, however, it had become run down and was unable to attract new retail tenants. The District 4 Councilman delivered a short speech prior to the groundbreaking. To the right of the Councilman is the Big Bundle Coin-Op Laundomat. When it opened in the late-1940s, the self-serve laudramat was quite an attraction. As teenagers in the seventies, this was a great place to go after a long day playing in the park, wet from snow or rain, to dry your clothes for a mere quarter. The once-popular laundramat closed in the late-1970s, and a fire had rendered that building unusable.
Mayor Richard Caligiuri and other dignitaries scooped up the first clumps of dirt to begin the transformation of the land into a modern apartment complex. Mayor Caligiuri was instrumental in many Brookline projects in the late 70's and early 80's, including the renovation of Brookline Park, located next to the Parkside site. Other digitaries photographed with ceremonial shovels include Father John McMahon of Resurrection Parish, Father Thomas Marpes of St. Pius X Parish, Pastor Edward Naumann of St. Mark Church, Father Charles Chatt of Our Lady of Loreto Parish and other local clergymen. |