Proposed Rockport housing development gets $564,000 boost
By Ray Lamont Staff Writer
July 28, 2016
ROCKPORT — The nonprofit development group looking to build 23 units of affordable rental housing on Granite Street has received a boost of more than $500,000 from a state-created financing agency to advance the project.
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, a public-private agency that provides financial, technical and other assistance to nonprofit developers, has extended $564,000 to the Beverly-based Harborlight Community Partners as an interest-free loan in its bid to build a new affordable housing complex at 5 Granite St.
The proposal, outlined in June by Harborlight CEO Andrew DeFranza, is pegged to include four one-bedroom units, 16 units of two bedrooms each, and a trio of three-bedroom apartments, all geared toward federal and state-recognized affordable housing eligibility standards.
DeFranza said Wednesday evening that the loan will enable Harborlight to accelerate acquiring the property and advancing its design work. He said the purchase is pegged at $470,000.
“This is a huge piece of support in terms of being able to hold it, and to do the planning work that’s needed,” DeFranza said. “But emotionally, it’s also a significant state boost that shows that folks at the state level are interested in the concept and the site.”
Rockport Planner Kirk Baker and DeFranza both said Wednesday that Harborlight has not yet submitted specific plans for the 1.3-acre site and the project, which Harborlight has titled Granite Street Crossing.
Both also said the project will be filed as a comprehensive permit under the state’s Chapter 40B affordable housing legislation, which limits local permitting for projects and can be utilized in communities whose current affordable units represent less than 10 percent of the town’s housing stock.
Rockport’s affordable housing percentage sits at 3.3 percent, according to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
DeFranza termed the application a “friendly Chapter 40B” filing, adding that he and other Harborlight officials have met with the site’s neighbors.
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