Category: CEDAC

MHPI Launches Project Transforming Classrooms Into Homes

MHPI Launches Project Transforming Classrooms Into Homes

Allston, MA, July 30, 2008 –(PR.com)– MHPI, Inc., a non-profit property development and management company of affordable housing for very low-income individuals, closed yesterday on its primary funding with the US Department of Housing & Urban Development and will host a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the David Prouty Intermediate School’s renovation into Senior Living at Prouty. The ceremony will be held at the former school located at 195 Main Street on Friday, August 22 at 1PM. Project construction is scheduled to span approximately one year and cost $7.8 million.

The adaptive re-use of the former high school, which MHPI purchased in 2006, will provide fully subsidized, supportive, service enriched housing for Spencer’s very low-income elderly.

“Everyone associated with the project is extremely excited to finally reach this stage of development after so many years of planning, designing, and securing funding,” says Sheldon Bycoff, President of MHPI. “As we reach this final stage in the development, we are excited to move closer to the opportunity to provide housing for low-income residents of Spencer and the surrounding area. Senior Living at Prouty will be a place for these people to call their home.”

When completed, the building will consist of 36 units: 35 rental units and one resident manager’s unit. Each of the apartment units will have a kitchen area, a private bath, a living/dining area, and a 24-hour emergency call system. All units are designed to meet tenants’ needs as their functional abilities change with age. The building is situated on the Town’s main street near various village businesses and is fully accessible to public transportation.

Originally funded by benefactor David Prouty in 1888, The David Prouty Intermediate School was built in 1889 as the Town’s high school. During WWII, the school played an active role in aiding the war effort. It served as a location for the Selective Service Board to provide physicals for men drafted into the service. With the opening of a new regional high school in September 1966, the building became David Prouty Intermediate School. Then, upon the completion of the new Wire Village School on Paxton Road in 2004, the school closed its doors for good.

Funding partners for this project are the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), The Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD), The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), and Mass Housing.

According to DHCD, in 2005 77 percent of Massachusetts elderly renters were cost burdened, with 47 percent reporting serious physical housing problems. Compounding this reality is the fact that almost 40 percent of Massachusetts elderly renters had incomes at or below the 50 percent of the state median income, further illustrating the need for the type of affordable elderly housing that MHPI provides.

Once the project nears its completion, MHPI will work with community organizations to identify tenant candidates, senior citizens 62 years old and older whose income is less than 50 percent of the area median.
For more information on MHPI and its other housing developments, visit www.mhpi.net.

About MHPI, Inc.
MHPI is a private non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation specializing in human services. For over 30 years, MHPI has been developing and providing housing for special populations. With several locations in the Greater Boston and central Massachusetts area, MHPI strives to provide a center of well being for its residents and the community at large.

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Contact Information
MHPI, Inc.
Aften Lay
617-789-4500 ext. 211
Aftenl@mhpi.net
www.mhpi.net

SourcePR.com

A vision for affordable housing in Needham

A vision for affordable housing in Needham
By Rich Gatto
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jan 23, 2008 @ 03:35 PM
Needham —
GUEST COMMENTARY

With the recent groundbreaking ceremony at High Rock Homes, the long-awaited birth of new housing opportunities in Needham is now upon us. Like expectant mothers and families, we have been preparing for months and waiting, not always patiently, for the day of delivery. This exciting moment represents both the success of a vision for a new way to expand affordable housing opportunities, and a glimpse at what the future might hold for our community.
The new development at High Rock Homes consists of 22 new two-family duplex-style homes to be completed this summer. Of the 40 new living units created, 20 will remain as rentals under the management of the Needham Housing Authority; the other 20 units will be two- and three-bedroom condominiums for sale at below market prices — ranging from $150,000 to $290,000. Families with annual incomes between $40,000-$90,000 will be eligible to buy these homes, and those with Needham connections such as having family, working or going to school here will be among those receiving preference in the lotteries that will be held.
The 20 new homeowners who will be served by this project represent one small slice of those who have contributed much to the town, but who have been priced out during the rapid growth of real estate values during the recent years. Think only of our teachers, firemen, police and public works employees, and you have the idea. Imagine then the seniors and retirees who would like to downsize their living quarters and remain in Needham, or the young singles who have been raised here and are just entering the workforce. Also include those who are living with special needs, who require handicapped-accessible units. As this larger picture of community needs for affordable housing options comes into focus, we realize that the work to achieve real results is just beginning.
The good news is we now have a blueprint for addressing these needs — a program which aims to create housing opportunities consistent with the shared goals and values of our town. Last June, the town adopted the Affordable Housing Plan, which was five years in the making. It includes a menu of actions to be planned and carried out that, in their combined effect, will build community and invigorate the town in ways that will benefit us all. Ideas for creating new affordable housing such as the rezoning of downtown Needham to allow residential units on upper stories, the improvement and expansion of senior apartments at the Linden/Chambers complex, and the use of designated town-owned parcels for appropriate housing development are included in the plan. The preservation of existing units that face potential “expiring use,” such as those at Nehoiden Glen, is equally important. A consistent and collaborative effort will be required from an array of town agencies and citizens to make this plan into reality; in fact, it is just this kind of persistence and cooperation that has led us to the creation of High Rock Homes.
During our 10-year history, Needham Opportunities Inc., has matured from a small group of volunteers with a vision of expanding affordable housing options to a nonprofit housing corporation with staff and some precious funding. As part of our mission “to promote, preserve and develop affordable housing in partnership with the community of Needham,” we are now positioned to assist the town in carrying out the Affordable Housing Plan. Many generous and energetic people have played a part in this growth. We are grateful and encouraged by the breadth and depth of support NOI has received from people of goodwill all throughout the town.
Needham Opportunities Inc., through its Board of Directors, invites all who believe in this community building effort to join with us in a commitment to achieving real results for our working families, our seniors, our young people and those living with special needs. Among all the good reasons to value this work, let us remember the best reason of all: we strive to treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated, and to provide for all the opportunities that we enjoy ourselves.
Rich Gatto is the executive director of the nonprofit housing corporation Needham Opportunities Inc., and a former Needham Housing Authority commissioner. He can be reached at 781-444-0503 or by e-mail at gattoagency@verizon.net.

SourceWicked Local - Needham

State puts finishing touches on Nike Village improvements

TOPSFIELD – An inscription on a pillow in a newly renovated living room seems to sum up the new Nike Village: “Home is where the heart is.”

Residents of the village have together endured addiction, mental illness, AIDS and the threat of homelessness. Over the past seven years, the residents also endured a renovation effort of the 1950s-vintage Nike missile base that was only supposed to take one year. That work officially concludes today, when some of the officials who helped revitalize the old Army officers’ quarters will celebrate the completion of the $4.2 million project.

“Part of mental illness is a constant state of anxiety,” said Paul O’Shea, president of Health & Education Services Inc., which runs Nike Village. “This has a calming effect that can benefit treatment.”

In one resident’s home, a fish tank is matched with a cross on the wall and a small tree with lights competing with new windows. Beige paint covers the walls, a new heating system blows air quietly, and a washing machine and dryer are just steps away. That’s all changed from the 1950s-vintage radiators and white paint that have hosted patients for about 20 years.

Altogether, 16 renovated houses offer rooms for up to 34 clients in three programs. Serenity hosts HIV and AIDS patients with substance abuse problems and is funded by the state Department of Public Health. The state Department of Mental Health funds the Timshel and Plowshare programs for people with chronic mental illness and substance abuse problems.

Health & Education Services worked with several businesses and organizations to finance the project, said Mary Mulligan, a vice president and chief financial officer.

“The partners in this with us were the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, TD BankNorth, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation,” she said.

O’Shea said the improved homes are far better.

“They were livable, but they were 1950s decor, 1950s living area, 1950s heating systems,” he said.

Most residents stay about two years as they transition back into the community and a more productive life. The Nike Village complex includes communal meals, social clubs and work environment clubs, O’Shea said.

“All of the people who are here would otherwise be homeless if it wasn’t for the programs,” O’Shea said.

Years in the making

Planning for the renovations started when new regulations made the area’s vintage septic system inadequate. A consultant told the health system that, if it was going to seek government money for a sewer tie-in, it might as well seek money for renovations. Years of government review followed, with some agencies’ desires clashing with others’. Even the U.S. Army, the former owner of the property, had a say. O’Shea said every agency was helping lead to a good renovation, but one year of construction took six years of planning, financing and permitting. Even the basic cost of blacktop quadrupled during planning. The project was initially supposed to cost $2 million.

“If this project was a person, it would be that guy in ‘Li’l Abner’ with the cloud over his head,” O’Shea quipped.

This morning, the project will be unveiled for an invitation-only event with some of the state and Health & Education Services officials who helped rebuild Nike Village. The residents’ privacy is closely protected.

Tim Clifford, who was hired this month to begin an 18-month fund-raising campaign, said Health & Education Services Inc. hopes to gather $1.5 million for paint and other basic improvements for the nonprofit’s 34 facilities in Essex County and the Merrimack Valley.

O’Shea said it would be the organization’s first capital fundraising campaign, which could strike a chord in many people with friends or relatives who have had addictions or mental illnesses.

“It never ceases to amaze me, the breadth of this problem,” he said. “Virtually anybody you talk to has been affected.”

Nike Village at a glance

Nike Village is a private complex on a former Nike missile base, off Route 1 near the Topsfield-Danvers line. Some 16 houses for people with HIV, AIDS, addictions or mental illness were renovated over the last year in a project that began seven years ago. The houses were part of the missile base, which opened around 1956 to protect Boston from Russian bombers.

The Serenity Supportive Housing; Timshel, a Hebrew word meaning “Thou Can”; and Ploughshare programs are run by Health & Education Services Inc., which is affiliated with Beverly Hospital. The programs have room for 34 patients, who live there with around the clock help.

SourceThe Salem News