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Massachusetts Preserved Over 3,400 Affordable Housing Units Last Year Despite the Challenges of the Pandemic

Massachusetts Preserved Over 3,400 Affordable Housing Units Last Year Despite the Challenges of the Pandemic

CEDAC announced today that Massachusetts preserved the long-term affordability of more than 3,400 existing units of rental housing during 2020. Our data show that 22 project developments with a total of 3,443 affordable apartments across the state were preserved using various types of state financing in 2020. The projects span the state and consist of large- and small-scale developments in communities across the Commonwealth, including Boston, Haverhill, Attleboro, Randolph, and Westfield.  You can read more at our press release.

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation’s Dudley Terrace project is one example of the Commonwealth’s success in preserving affordable housing. This four-building, scattered-site development in Dorchester’s Savin Hill and Upham’s Corner neighborhoods last received a moderate rehabilitation in 1999. Dorchester Bay will renovate the property’s 56 units to address building envelope concerns, energy retrofits, and life-safety improvements. All units will be designated for households below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). CEDAC supported the project with technical assistance and committed $700,000 in predevelopment financing.  In addition, CEDAC managed the award by DHCD of  $406,500 in state Facilities Consolidation Funds for three units serving clients of the Department of Mental Health.

Pictured above: one of the four Dudley Terrace buildings (photo credit: Dorchester Bay)

Along with Dudley Terrace, the following affordable housing developments were preserved in 2020:

Project Name City/Town # of Affordable Units Preserved
Gardner Terrace I and II Attleboro 144
Hebronville Mill Attleboro 83
Cabot Housing Beverly 45
Blue Mountain Boston 217
Castle Square Boston 450
Dudley Terrace Boston 56
Granite Lena Boston 143
New Port Antonio Boston 227
Newcastle Saranac Boston 97
Schoolhouse Brookledge Cummins Boston 90
Borden Street Housing Fall River 260
Cordovan at Haverhill Station Haverhill 146
Sirk and Chestnut Lowell 88
Merrimack Valley Apartments Methuen 60
Bedford Towers New Bedford 157
Melville Towers New Bedford 326
Casselman House Newton 42
Town Brook House Quincy 150
Simon C Fireman Randolph 159
Broadway Tower Revere 59
Mountain View Terrace Stoneham 194
Powdermill Village Westfield 250
Total # of Affordable Units Preserved
3443

 

Many housing preservation projects undertaken during the pandemic required a relocation plan so that existing tenants could remain safely housed during construction. Last year, CEDAC interviewed Housing Opportunities Unlimited (HOU) to learn about the challenges that affordable housing owners and property managers face while conducting a relocation during the public health crisis and the ways that their organization has worked to keep residents, staff, and contractors safe during the process.

The pandemic has underscored the need for everyone to have a place to call home, and we are pleased to report that housing preservation activity in Massachusetts remained strong last year despite the public health crisis. To learn more about CEDAC’s housing preservation work in collaboration with our statewide partners, click here.

Categories: CEDAC, Housing Preservation

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