By David Abel
Three weeks ago, asbestos tiles covered the floors and many of the windows were cracked or drafty. Grimy paint peeled off plaster walls also filled with asbestos, and an array of bulky tools littered the old workshop where for decades city workers made signs, meters, and traffic lights.
Since then, in a feat of unparalleled speed for any previous city building, the Boston Transportation Department’s old sign shop has been transformed into the city’s new shelter for the homeless — with $2 million worth of new floors, walls, plumbing, lighting, fire alarms, sheetrock, paint, electrical and heating systems, and much more.
The Coalition for Homeless Individuals 
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