New loans help Quincy affordable-housing project gain momentum

New loans help Quincy affordable-housing project gain momentum
By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent
QUINCY – Quincy’s Winter Garden development will receive an additional $175,000 in loans from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. to help in the pre-development stage of the affordable-housing project – a crucial step to getting it off the ground.
Winter Gardens, a 24-unit affordable-housing project run by the Neighborhood Housing Services of the South Shore, has already received $25,000 from CEDAC in addition to substantial funding from the state and federal governments.
This additional funding will not only solidify the project, said Roger Herzog, executive director of CEDAC, but provide much needed services and jobs to the community.
“We are pleased to be providing additional affordable-housing options and to work with non-profit community-based developers that have identified the needs of their neighborhoods and are addressing them,” said Herzog. “When you consider the additional long-term positive impacts of these developments, such as job creation and economic development, it is clear that these types of projects go beyond just housing — they help to strengthen the entire community.”
The development will be located near the Quincy Shipyard, on land where a dilapidated single-family home now sits. Soon to take its place will be the two-dozen affordable rental homes, a project that Herzog says will shape the community.
“Projects such as … Winter Gardens are important because they ensure that residents in those communities have access to quality affordable housing,” he said.
CEDAC is a unique service for non-profits, said Robert Corley, the executive director of the Neighborhood Housing Services of the South Shore, and loans like this will enable the project to get on its feet.
“It provides us financing to put everything in place before we start construction, and when we close on our financing, it will be repaid in full. But it’s a unique resource for non-profits, as there aren’t a lot of people who will lend you money in the pre-development phases,” Corley said.
According to Corley, the money will be used for architectural drawings and engineering, though the money can be used for any pre-development purpose.
In addition to the Winter Gardens development, Neighborhood Housing is also working on building a single-family home for returning disabled veteran families.
“To have a fully accessible single-family home in the Quincy neighborhood is something we’re working on now. There aren’t a lot of single-family homes handicap-accessible…but as far as our larger developments, Winter Gardens is it for right now,” Corley said.
Neighborhood Housing hopes to begin construction on the rent-controlled units by July, with completion slated for July of the following year.
In addition to providing $175,000 to Winter Gardens, CEDAC will also provide $95,500 in funding to Olympia Oaks affordable housing development in Amherst to assist in the pre-development stage of construction.
A public-private company, CEDAC provides community development financing to non-profit organizations throughout the state.

SourceBoston Globe