Massachusetts Models Successful Community Development

As CEDAC prepares to celebrate its 40^th anniversary in 2018, we are excited to present this annual report on our FY2017 activities. CEDAC and its non-profit community development partners made strides to strengthen communities across the Commonwealth through affordable housing development and preservation, child care facilities improvement and expansion, and workforce development.

Our early stage project lending to non-profit developers increased for both predevelopment and acquisition loans, and we supported a high volume of housing and child care projects that moved forward into the construction phase of development. CEDAC approved over $22 million in new predevelopment or acquisition loan or grant commitments this year to 53 housing development projects, an increase of 17% over FY2016. This financial activity includes a new resource – small planning grants made possible through the generosity of the Kuehn Charitable Foundation. Our affiliate Children’s Investment Fund assisted non-profit child care providers to implement facility improvement and expansion projects through the Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund. The Commonwealth Workforce Coalition planned and convened its first Sharing Skills~Building Connections conference under its new program manager, the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Center for Social Policy.

In this report, we are pleased to share snapshots of some notable project accomplishments, including:

• Two new affordable housing developments on the same block of Pleasant Street in Northampton that moved into construction, Live 155 and The Lumber Yard, transforming this street which serves as a gateway to downtown;
• Numerous supportive housing projects in Boston and across the state serving homeless families and individuals, veterans, elders, and persons with disabilities, including several that were funded through the Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) innovative supportive housing funding rounds; and
• A sampling of the child care facility capital projects that have been funded through the Commonwealth’s EEOST program.

Children’s Investment Fund awarded the Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) its 1^st annual Mav Pardee Award in recognition of CHAPA’s efforts to advocate for the successful enactment of EEOST as part of the 2013 Housing Bond Bill. Youth from the Community Art Center of Cambridge produced a video tribute that was shown at the annual CHAPA dinner. This short video featured State Representative Jeffrey Sánchez, newly appointed Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, speaking about the importance of early childhood education.

This year, CEDAC relocated its headquarters to 18 Tremont Street in Boston. We marked the occasion by hosting an Open House that welcomed numerous public and non-profit partners. The attendees exemplified the breadth and strength of Massachusetts’ commitment to creating affordable and enduring communities. The Commonwealth is a national model for community development because it recognizes that building strong communities is never about any one agency or organization. We thank the Baker-Polito Administration, the Massachusetts Legislature, and all of our public and private partners for the continued commitment to our shared community development mission.

This year we have seen remarkable examples of partnership and collaboration across the state, including the newly-created Supportive Housing Production and Services Committee of the Interagency Council on Housing and Homelessness, in which CEDAC is actively involved. CEDAC continues to partner with state and local agencies to preserve existing inventories of affordable housing and provide capital support to non-profit child care facilities. Working with local non-profit developers at the earliest stages of their projects, our technical assistance and initial capital investments are often the only way a promising community development project can move forward. Our strong relationships with neighborhood partners who know their communities best are crucial to this success.

Finally, CEDAC welcomed two new individuals to its dedicated and hardworking Board of Directors. Margaret Wagner of First Atlantic Capital and MassHousing’s executive director Tim Sullivan were appointed by Governor Charlie Baker. We would like to thank outgoing longtime Board members Tom Gleason and Michael Hatfield for their service.

We conclude 2017 with great anticipation for CEDAC’s 40th anniversary in 2018, when we will recognize the accomplishments stemming from our enabling legislation enacted in 1978, and celebrate community development in the Commonwealth.

Roger Herzog
CEDAC Executive Director

Chrystal Kornegay
CEDAC Board Chair

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