After years of helping to rehabilitate inmates, a fenway halfway house is turning to its exterior.

Brooke House, which provides transitional housing for men recently released from Suffolk County jail, is getting a $1 million facelift. After the addtion of a rear stairway inside the 107 Park Drive building, the facility's external fire escape has been removed. Crews are also cleaning the facade and rehabbing its brickwork.

"It's really a long overdue maintenance," said Brooke House Director of Facilities Management John Rodgers, "The exterior look of the building won't change. It should just look cleaner."

Brooke House contains about 50 dormitory-style rooms for men who have committed "minor offenses," like robbery or selling drugs. Residents are required to perform four hours of community service a week. Community Resources for Justice, a Back Bay-based non profit, oversees the facility for the county.

Brooke House moved to the Fenway in 2002, after 35 years in the South End. The building previously housed inmates from the Massachusetts House of Corrections.

Work on the building started in March and is expected to be completed in July, Rodgers said. While the facility is currently covered by netting "underneath it's looking really good," he stated. "It's going to be a very attractive building when it all comes down."

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