Pictured from left: Gov. Healey, Undersecretary Maddox, Roger Herzog – CEDAC, Kate Racer, DHCD
BOSTON (April 4, 2023) – In INSITES this week, the development of more supportive housing resources in Massachusetts is one of CEDAC’s most important initiatives in 2023, and part of our ongoing commitment to address homelessness and serve residents in need.
Wednesday, March 29 was an important milestone for this effort and a great day for all those who are allies in this mission. We were honored to join Governor Maura Healey, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and our own Board chair – Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox – to mark the awards of more than $62 million in state and federal capital subsidies and additional state and federal tax credit allocations for supportive housing.
These funding awards will support 12 affordable projects that offer specialized services to residents. In total, they will create more than 460 housing units, nearly all of which will be reserved for low-income households and include 317 units for very low-income residents. The funding was announced under beautiful skies outside the offices of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp – with JPNDC CEO Teronda Ellis hosting a large and enthusiastic crowd of city and state officials, community leaders, residents and other stakeholders.
“We’re proud to support projects in every region of our state that are providing permanent supportive housing for families, seniors, veterans, young people and people experiencing homelessness,” said Governor Healey. “This is the type of housing production that we want to drive in communities across the state to lower costs and address our housing crisis.”
Permanent supportive housing provides affordable housing for vulnerable populations with targeted supportive services to address a diverse range of needs, including case management, job training, childcare, health and support services. The awards announced this week include projects for chronically homeless individuals, adults with disabilities, families transitioning from homelessness, vulnerable youth, and low-income seniors.
The awards include $62 million in direct capital subsidies, including federal ARPA funding that the Legislature targeted for supportive housing, and state and federal housing tax credits which will generate an additional $74 million in equity for projects.
Lieutenant Governor Driscoll called the projects “affordable and accessible” while noting they are “close to transit and retail amenities and offer a sense of community.” She also noted the exciting plans of the Healey Administration to elevate DHCD to a Secretariat of Housing and Livable Communities. Mayor Wu added: “Our older adults deserve to retire and live where they already call home, and these … projects will help our beloved community members stay in Boston.”
In addition to three projects in Boston the funding will also enable development of supportive housing in Chelsea, Greenfield, North Adams, Springfield, and on Cape Cod.
“Strong neighborhoods have quality, affordable housing options for residents across the income spectrum and the Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to increasing development at every level and working with talented partners like JPNDC, CEDAC, and all of today’s awardees,” said Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Maddox, who chairs the CEDAC Board. Undersecretary Maddox also noted CEDAC’s unique role in the housing finance system of assisting non-profit developers at the early stages of the development process with predevelopment and acquisition financing. In this latest supportive housing funding round, CEDAC provided a total of over $3.6 million in predevelopment financing and $11.7 million in acquisition loans to 7 of the projects that received awards.
Significantly, the announcement represents the first ARPA funding awards for supportive housing in Massachusetts. The funding and the housing construction it enables will make a significant impact on the crisis of homelessness across the state. CEDAC works closely with DHCD to manage the ARPA and other state capital funding targeted to supportive housing.
“The new housing made possible through ARPA and other state funding sources comes at a time of vital need. CEDAC is pleased to collaborate with Governor Healey, Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Undersecretary of Housing Jennifer Maddox to increase the supply of supportive housing for our most vulnerable populations,” said Roger Herzog, CEDAC’s Executive Director.
About CEDAC
CEDAC is a public-private community development financial institution that provides project financing and technical expertise for community-based and other non-profit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts. CEDAC’s work supports two key building blocks of community development: affordable housing and early care and education. CEDAC is also active in state and national housing preservation policy research and development and is widely recognized as a leader in the non-profit community development industry. For additional information on CEDAC and its current projects, please visit www.cedac.org.
