$700,000 in loans for affordable housing projects

November 30, 2011

5 Things to Know Today
By Chris Orchard

Local Connections
$700,000 in Affordable Housing Loans, and Safe Toys for Children
$700,000 in loans for affordable housing projects
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation announced last week $700,000 in loans for affordable housing projects in Somerville. The Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) received the loans, and most of the money will be used to build an eight-unit building in East Somerville that will provide permanent housing to formerly homeless households, according to an announcement from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation. Part of the loans will go toward the completion of Saint Polycarp Village Phase III, which will be home to 31 units of affordable housing. In October, the Somerville Community Corporation received subsidies and tax credits from the state for these projects.

Copyright © 2011 Patch.
URL: http://somerville.patch.com/articles/700-000-in-affordable-housing-loans-and-safe-toys-for-children

SourceSomerville Patch

Much ballyhooed senior housing opens in Townsend

October 15, 2011
Much ballyhooed senior housing opens in Townsend
By Katina Caraganis, kcaraganis@sentinelandenterprise.com

TOWNSEND — The lobby and community room in Townsend Woods, a 36-unit affordable-housing development for the elderly off of Dudley Road, was filled to capacity Friday afternoon as curious community members tried to get as much information as they could about the new facility.
The development is the first Housing and Urban Development senior housing development in Massachusetts to be LEED certified, a designation that promotes design and construction elements that reduce the amount of negative environmental impacts on the surrounding community.
It is also an Energy Star certified facility, so each unit’s appliances will use less energy and will emit fewer greenhouse gases, according to Paul Teixeira, vice president and chief program officer at RCAP Solutions, a Gardner-based company responsible for bringing the project together.
RCAP began developing the project nine years ago, Teixeira told a room of more than 100 people Friday afternoon, including state Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, state Rep. Sheila Harrington and members of the Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Townsend Woods is a three-story, 3,400-square-foot building that was built to help complement Atwood Acres, which is situated in front of Townsend Woods, while providing new features to interested residents.
The facility has many indoor and outdoor community spaces, fireplaces, a concrete patio with outdoor seating, a second-floor deck, garden space for growing vegetables and flowers, laundry facilities, and personal-care space with a hair salon.
The exterior of the facility also has a clock tower with working clock.
Shirley John said she’s lived at Atwood Acres since January and was interested in learning more about Townsend Woods to decide if it was worth the move.
“It seems very nice inside. I’ve been thinking about coming over here, and this was just a chance for me to put my curiosity behind me,” she said as she talked with other seniors from the area. She is on the waiting list to receive a unit.
She spent much of her life in Vermont, but moved back to the area years ago, she said, to be closer to her kids.
“Everything’s so bright and new here. Who wouldn’t want to live here?” she said. “They did such a nice job with the landscaping and everything inside.”
She said the various community rooms, including a media room and a game room, also appealed to her.
A friend of hers moved into the building last weekend, John said, and has been very happy with the building.
“Everybody has been waiting for this building to be built. It was supposed to be finished a while ago, so it’s been a long time coming,” she said.
Teixeira agreed, telling the crowd Friday there were times he doubted it would ever be completed.
“I never thought we would see this day. I’m pleased at the outcome we have here,” he said. “What has been accomplished is great and a true labor of love.”
Flanagan and Harrington presented the staff of the facility with a Massachusetts state flag, dedicated at the Statehouse earlier this week.
“This facility is such a great addition to Townsend,” Harrington said. “Hopefully this can be a model going forward for future developments.”
Shirley Ward, of Clinton, moved into one of the units last week and said she couldn’t be happier with her decision.
Each unit has a kitchen, living space, bedroom and bathroom designed with comfort, safety and ease of mobility in mind, Teixeira said.
“I came back here to be closer to my family,” Ward said. “I took a tour of this facility and knew it was the place I wanted to be. It’s a lot nicer than where I was.”
Funding for the project came from $5.5 million in federal funds from HUD, and $500,000 each from a Department of Housing and Community Development HOME grant and Housing Innovation Funds from the Community Economic Development Assistant Corporation.
The project officially broke ground in May 2010.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw2hNnDS118

© 2011 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Mid-States Newspapers, Inc
URL: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/ci_19120413?IADID=Search-www.sentinelandenterprise.com-www.sentinelandenterprise.com

SourceSentinel & Enterprise

Seniors at home in old Lee school

Seniors at home in old Lee school
By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff
LEE — The halls of the former Lee Central School have been reopened and are bustling with new life.
On Friday morning more than 50 senior citizens joined state and local dignitaries and members of Elder Services of Berkshire County to celebrate the new Crossway Tower, a 13-unit annex of affordable one-bedroom apartments that are available to seniors.
The new facility joins Crossway Village, which consists of 38 one-bedroom apartments that were created five years ago in the other two-thirds of the High Street building.
“I love it. I’m back in Lee, back where all my friends are. I’m home,” said Betty Hodgkins, a Crossway Tower resident.
The new apartments are located in the school building’s historic Hyde Wing, which was built in 1894. The $3.8 million project that Elder Services began 14 months ago also preserved the façade and bell-tower of the century-old school.
A combination of funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the state Dept. of Housing and Community Development, with support from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation and the town, enabled NL Construction to build the new facility. Berkshire Housing Development Corp., which manages Crossway Village for Elder Services, will also manage Crossway Tower.
Residents began moving into the new wing back in April, but Friday marked both the official opening of the wing, and the announcement that all 13 units have been filled.
“There’s a very high demand for senior housing in the county,” said Nicholas Kirchner, fiscal director of Elder Services.
At Crossway Tower, residents pay 30 percent of their income for rent. HUD pays the difference through what is known as a project rental assistance contract.
The units are spacious, averaging 1,000 square feet. Each floor of the housing project includes community rooms, laundry facilities and space for families and friends to visit. Small pets are OK, too. Also accessible on the campus are the Lee Council on Aging, a hair salon and weekday lunch services.
“It’s like a hotel,” said John Turner, who lives in a Crossway Tower apartment with his wife of 62 years, Barb.
“This is ideal for us because we have a big family and they can comfortably visit,” he said.
The amenities and downtown location have already attracted dozens of hopeful tenants: Crossway Tower has a waiting list of 29 people, while 20 more are waiting to receive a Crossway Village apartment.
Applications to create 20 senior housing units in Dalton and 24 units in Clarksburg are currently being reviewed, Kirchner said.
Elder Services Executive Director Robert Dean said he hopes the Crossway projects will serve as a successful model for future affordable senior housing projects in the Berkshires.
“This is a shining example of what senior housing could and should be,” he said.

URL: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_18915361
© Copyright 2011 Media News group

SourceBerkshire Eagle

Natick condo residents upset with state mental health placements

August 20, 2011
Natick condo residents upset with state mental health placements
By: Ian B. Murphy, Daily News staff

NATICK — Condominium owners at the Admiral Dewey House on East Central Street are upset they weren’t told that a nonprofit organization would buy two units for the state Department of Mental Health to house people with mental illness.
The residents say the condo sellers lied to them about who was buying their properties, and neither Cascap Inc., the Cambridge nonprofit that bought the condos with state money, nor the Department of Mental Health has contacted the community association to explain the process or assuage fears.
“We’ve never been advised or involved in the process, except for voicing our concerns,” Michael McMahon said. “There was never an outreach to the community. None of us want to come across as ignorant, or superstitious, or prejudiced, but if your direct neighbors are Department of Mental Health placements, there are any number of concerns that go through your mind. Whether they’re valid or invalid, you would think that the organizations who did this would want to address those.”
The sales are legal, private transactions, and irreversible.
Cascap CEO Michael Haran said the nonprofit was contracted to purchase 10 units for the Department of Mental Health with money from the sale of the former Metropolitan State Hospital property in Waltham. Cascap bid on a grant from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, a state-funded real estate finance company to own and manage the properties for state clients. The nonprofit also bought condos in Arlington, Belmont, Newton and Watertown.
The condos in the Admiral Dewey House met the state’s criteria for proximity to transportation and shopping, and handicapped accessibility, Haran said. He said he wishes the concerned residents would have contacted Cascap directly with their concerns, not the Board of Selectmen.
“These are not owned by the Department of Mental Health. They’re owned by us,” Haran said. “I guess you could get into splitting hairs here and semantics, but we’re the owners. It wasn’t set up this way to hide or get around anything, but this is how the trust was set up.”
McMahon said he recognizes that the purchases were legal but doesn’t think they’re a private sale.
“It’s state-funded, and it’s for the strict, deeded use of a state agency’s clients, the Department of Mental Health, so to say it’s a private purchase that the state has no oversight in is disingenuous,” he said. “It just strikes us as removing the responsibility of the purchase out of the state when they’re the funder and the user.”
By purchasing the two condos, Cascap owns 9.28 percent of the building, more than any other owner. Haran said the nonprofit, which also owns and manages condos for elders and people with disabilities in Cambridge, said it will do background checks on the people the state recommends for the condos.
“If we run a (criminal background check), and we have real concerns or questions, we will reject them. It’s not the situation where we’re listed as the owner, but we’re just going to hand over the keys to the Department of Mental Health.”
Haran said Cascap is not informed about the mental health status of any of the potential residents because that would be illegal.
The Daily News’ request for an interview with the state department was not granted.
McMahon said he is concerned about being able to sell his condo in the future.
“Every direct wall I share with a person now is a Department of Mental Health placement,” McMahon said. “How does that impact my home value? The state is now the largest single owner in the building. What does that mean on how they view maintenance issues, or property value issues? If you think that somebody who is purchasing a unit doesn’t take that into their acquisition decision, their purchase of a property, then you’re crazy.”
Cindy Kassanos, another resident, said she’s most concerned with how much Cascap overpaid.
“I was kind of appalled that they used state funds to pay so high above market value,” Kassanos said.
Cascap purchased one condo for $240,000 and another for $235,000. Those units were assessed in fiscal 2011 for $219,700 and $211,200, respectively.
The Warren Group, a real estate data firm, reported that the most recent sale in the building was in January for $225,000, about $7,000 above its assessed value.
Haran said Cascap had the units appraised and went through a real estate broker.
“We’d make an offer on the unit subject to the appraisal,” Haran said. “One of the reasons we had a broker was to take advantage of their sense of the market.”

Copyright 2011 The MetroWest Daily News. Some rights reserved
URL: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/lifestyle/health/x1510868106/Natick-condo-residents-upset-with-state-mental-health-placements?photo=0

SourceThe MetroWest Daily News

Easthampton’s proposed Parsons Village affordable housing project gets $75,000 loan commitment incre

Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Easthampton’s proposed Parsons Village affordable housing project gets $75,000 loan commitment increase
By Brian Steele, The Republican

EASTHAMPTON – Funding for a proposed affordable housing project in New City is rolling in even though the developer still doesn’t have the necessary permit and neighbors have pulled no punches in their efforts to stop it.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., a quasi-public funding agency for affordable housing and other projects, has announced an increase in its loan commitment to Parsons Village’s developer, Valley Community Development Corp.

The $75,000 hike brings the total commitment to $181,300. It comes due when full funding is secured. It will help with third-party expenses like attorney, design and appraisal fees, as well as putting together a request for funding from the state, said Valley CDC Executive Director Joanne Campbell.

A press release from CEDAC says the funding came at a time when the design showed 38 units, but there are now 37 planned. The revision will not affect the amount or terms of the loan.

Last year, the City Council committed $200,000 in community preservation funds if the project can be fully funded, and Valley CDC said it will ask for another $300,000. State and federal low-income housing tax credits and private investors will likely fund the rest of the $11 million to $12 million development.

Monthly rent for units in the development, which has been in the permitting phase for more than four months, would be $555 to $1,000, depending on the number of bedrooms, for tenants making between $26,000 and $50,000 per year.

In March, 101 residents, including City Councilor Justin P. Cobb of New City, sent a petition asking the state Department of Housing and Community Development’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund not to support Parsons Village. The accompanying letter says it was sent to “all granters” to which Valley CDC would apply.

Their chief complaints were the purportedly high density, the lack of owner-occupied units, its long distance from services like transportation hubs and grocery stores, and the notion that it would continue a trend of segregating low-income people into one section of the city.

A separate statement from CEDAC said the organization did not receive the petition. Cobb said the petition went to those groups that issue the tax credits.

“This is how government stacks the deck against some of the residents,” Cobb said. “We don’t know how many funding sources they have. … It would have been nice if we could have offered an alternate point of view so (CEDAC) could have made a more data-driven decision.”

Campbell said the loan increase is “a positive turn for us.”

“They’re giving a vote of confidence that ultimately we’ll have a permit,” she said. “They feel the project has merit.”

SourceThe Republican (MassLive.Com)

Jackson Street Group Home opens

July 27, 2011
Jackson Street Group Home opens
By Harry Kane
The Walnut Street Center has expanded, and now a new group home for handicapped adults opened last Friday July, 22 on Jackson Street. “There are currently 18 of these facilities in Somerville now,” said Katherine Hardy, the Office Facilities Manager at the Walnut Street Center. “There will be 5 new tenants living at the Jackson Street facility starting in August.” The Walnut Street Center provides support services in Somerville and other nearby communities to people with developmental disabilities.
Joe Churchill, Executive Director at the Walnut Street Center said, “The Jackson Road Project represents Walnut Street Center’s continuing effort to provide excellent service delivery and state of the art facilities for the intellectually and physically impaired consumers we have pledged to serve. I intend to continue the tradition started by the Walnut Street Center over 40 years ago, to increase opportunities for our disabled consumers to live as independent and productive members of the community.”
The funding for this project was earmarked in 2003 and construction began for the facility in 2010. Juan Gomez, Finance Director at the Walnut Street Center worked in coordination with the DDS to secure funding and make the project a reality. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave $614,400 while CEDAC gave 472,629 and the City of Somerville allotted $80,000. The total cost of construction and development was $1,167,029.
John Wheeler, The President of the CARE inc., the Community Alternative Residential Environments said, “Our board’s responsibility is the financial viability and the care-taking of the facility. We make sure the resources we’ve got are being invested correctly.” This property had previously been a group home and had an open lot next to it, so this made it possible to build a larger group home. Wheeler referred to the Jackson Street Project as a “half renovation, half stick built project.”
Jim O’Dea, the Director of Residential Supports thought there were plenty of design features worth noting. “There is a lift system throughout the house so that the folks can safely get from the bedroom to the bathroom. We have the four bedrooms along the back of the house. Each of the bedrooms has access to the back deck so in an emergency we can very quickly, safely, and easily have the ability to evacuate people. In the kitchen we dropped the stove and countertops down so that the folks in wheelchairs could participate in any of the activities that took place in the kitchen. In the far bathroom we have the wide-open shower with the same track system that brings folks into that bathroom. We designed it with a lot of light with a nice bright cheery atmosphere to live in. We designed it so we could get the wheelchair van up around the back so that after activities they can get back up the ramp and into the house. Out in front we put in an elevator lift that we can use to help people get in and out of the house if need be. They kept the nice front porch so people can sit out and hang around out there, put the windows up and the screens down and just kinda enjoy the neighborhood.”

Copyright 2010 The Somerville News and Prospect Hill Publishing, Inc.
URL: http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/1753

SourceThe Somerville News

CEDAC NOT MENTIONED: Proposed Parsons Village housing in Easthampton receives $75,000 state loan

Proposed Parsons Village housing in Easthampton receives $75,000 state loan
By BARBARA SOLOW, Staff Writer

EASTHAMPTON – Parsons Village, a proposed affordable housing development that has generated controversy in the city, was among seven affordable housing and child care projects named Monday as recipients of state loans.
The planned $10 million Parsons Village complex, which is being developed by Valley Community Developent Corp., was awarded a $75,000 loan from the state’s Economic Development Assistance Corp.
The CEDAC, a public-private finance agency created in 1978 to serve as a resource for nonprofit community development organizations, announced a total of $2.2 million in loan commitments to low-income housing and child care projects in Massachusetts.
A press release describing those projects stated that the 4.34-acre Parsons Village development “will meet a substantial need in Easthampton, a community with a large low- and moderate-income population and a shortage of affordable rental housing.”
Supporters of the Parsons Street project have made similar arguments at public hearings held since May. Monthly rents at the new complex would range from $555 to $1,000 per unit for tenants in the $26,000 to $50,000 annual income range.
But opponents have countered that the project does not fit with the city’s master plan because the area around the proposed site is already too densely populated.
In response to citizen concerns, the CDC recently agreed to reduce the number of units from 38 to 37 but keep the same number of bedrooms. The new design calls for six separate buildings that will house one studio apartment, eight one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom apartments.
Berkshire Design Group, the firm handling the design work, has also altered plans to ensure that all of the buildings meet city setback requriements and that parking areas conform with zoning rules prohibiting more than 14 spaces in a single parking area.
The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the Parsons Village project again Aug. 29.
After the board closes the public hearing, it has 90 days to make a decision on the project. If the application is approved, there is a 20-day appeal period.
Neither Easthampton Mayor Michael Tautznik, nor Valley CDC Director Joanne Campbell could be reached for comment Monday.

SourceDaily Hampshire Gazette via GazetteNet.com

Bridge loan sets stage for Lee rehab project

Monday July 18, 2011
Bridge loan sets stage for Lee rehab project
By Dick Lindsay, Berkshire Eagle Staff,

The Berkshire Housing Development Corp. plans on renovating 16 apartments at 57 Main and maintain them as affordable rental units. (Berkshire Eagle photo)
LEE — A regional housing agency has secured a $700,000 bridge loan that agency officials say will jump start its $2.7 million downtown housing rehabilitation project three years in the making.
Berkshire Housing Development Corp. recently received the loan from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) to be used toward the purchase of the mixed-use building at 57 Main St. from the Consolati family. A closing date is being scheduled for the end of July, according to BHDC President Elton Ogden.
CEDAC is a public-private non-profit finance agency dedicated to helping other non profits develop affordable housing, promote workforce development and create child care facilities for working parents.
BHDC plans to renovate the 16 apartments in the upper two floors at 57 Main and maintain them as affordable rental units. The first floor commercial space will continue to be occupied by Country Lady Antiques and Gifts, the Upstairs Basement consignment shop and Lee Power Equipment.
Ogden said the CEDAC loan will be repaid from a $1.8 million state grant he’s “pretty optimistic” his agency will receive, possibly in two months. A second state grant and a pair of private loans will cover the rest of the $2.7 million acquisition and renovation costs.
Berkshire Housing is anxious to begin the project.
“We’ve structured a deal to move forward before we secure the [state] funding,” Ogden said.
Since 2008, BHDC has had a purchase and sale agreement with the Consolati family in hopes of landing state money for the project. The grant application has been rejected several times, but the owners have been willing to wait, knowing BHDC will renovate the three-story brick building and still keep the apartments affordable.
“The building needs work, especially the exterior, but its difficult for us to do with the low rents we charge, otherwise we would have to raise the rents significantly,” said Thomas Consolati, a retired public school superintendent.
While Lee has been focused on the commercial aspect of its downtown revitalization, town officials have said the BHDC housing project is just as important as keeping storefronts filled and creating more parking for Main Street shoppers.
Consolati agreed affordable housing is key to a vibrant town center, year round.
“This project will be another good, positive step for the downtown,” he said.
To reach Dick Lindsay:
rlindsay@berkshireeagle.com,
or (413) 496-6233.

SourceBerkshire Eagle

Loan to aid affordable housing project planned in Jackson Square

Loan to aid affordable housing project planned in Jackson Square
By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent
JAMAICA PLAIN – A plan for a 36-unit affordable rental housing development in Jackson Square has received a financial boost.
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation has made a $100,000 loan to the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation to help get the project toward a shovel-ready stage.
The affordable housing units will be built at 75 Amory Avenue. That project, and the roadway it will sit on, will be constructed as part of the 14-building, multi-phase, quarter-billion-dollar, mixed-used Jackson Square Redevelopment Initiative.
The 75 Amory Ave. project will be the JPNDC’s first housing development within that larger initiative at the crossroads between Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. It is anticipated to break ground in late 2012 or early 2012, said JPNDC spokeswoman Sally Swenson.
“We’re very pleased to be able to support their new venture in Jackson Square,” said CEDAC executive director Roger Herzog by phone Tuesday.
He said the organization was one of five that combined to provide $1.5 million in funding to Jackson Square Partners to aid in the overall planning of the grand redevelopment proposal. The JPNDC, along with Urban Edge and the Hyde Square Task Force, comprise Jackson Square Partners.
CEDAC, a 33-year-old, public-private community development finance agency that supports nonprofit agencies, announced the financial support last week as part of a total of $3.8 million in loan commitments for 12 affordable housing developments.
“Projects such as these are critically important to communities and residents across the Commonwealth, especially in those areas that are lacking access to quality affordable housing,” added Herzog in a press release. “The pre-development funds provided by CEDAC allow each of these non-profit developers the opportunity to help strengthen their communities by creating or preserving affordable homes for those in need.”
E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
© 2011 NY Times Co.
URL: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/jamaica_plain/2011/06/loan_to_aid_affordable_housing.html

SourceBoston Globe

Jackson rec center approved: Other Jackson projects stalled

June 24, 2011
Jackson rec center approved: Other Jackson projects stalled
By David Taber
JACKSON SQ.—Plans for a new recreation center received Boston Redevelopment Authority approval last week and two residential developments are moving forward, but other pieces of the elaborate Jackson Square redevelopment plan appear stalled with little or no explanation.
Nonprofit developer Urban Edge won BRA board approval June 16 to construct a 38,500-square-foot multi-use facility that will function a skating rink and an indoor turf field.
Under the name Jackson Square Partners, Urban Edge, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) private developer Mitchell Properties and others are working on a massive neighborhood redevelopment project in the square.
As the Gazette previously reported, Mitchell Properties planned to start this spring on construction on a 103-unit mixed income residential development.
But work has not yet begun on that development planned for the corner of Centre Street and Columbus Avenue near the Jackson Square T Station. Mitchell did not respond to Gazette requests for comment by press time.
Urban Edge staffer Noah Maslan told the Gazette the nonprofit still hopes to get about a quarter of the estimated $16 million the rec. center project will cost from bond funding by the state. If that works out, Urban Edge will begin a capital campaign in the fall with the hopes of raising the rest of the money in time for a fall 2012 construction start, he said.
Next door to the proposed site of the new recreation facility at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Ritchie Street, Urban Edge is also trying to secure funding to build Jackson Commons, a mixed-use residential and commercial development.
That project—a dramatic expansion of the Urban Edge-owned Webb building at 1542 Columbus Ave.—will have 38 mixed-income apartments and 12,000 square feet of community and commercial space.
Maslan said that project is waiting on the approval of state funds, and, if they are awarded, construction could begin by spring of 2012.
JPNDC spokesperson Sally Swenson told the Gazette the JPNDC recently received $100,000 in pre-development funds from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation. That funding will help the JPNDC finalize plans for a residential development at 75 Jackson St., a new street Jackson Square Partners plans to add to the neighborhood between Amory Street and the Southwest Corridor Park.
The JPNDC is also partnered with the local nonprofit the Hyde Square Task Force to develop a Youth and Families Center on the T station side of Columbus Avenue, but that project “has been postponed indefinitely” because of economic downturn-related fund-raising constraints, Swenson told the Gazette.

SourceJamaica Plain Gazette