Category: CEDAC

The Neighborhood Developers Celebrate Completion of 571 Revere

Revere’s newest affordable housing complex held a ribbon cutting ceremony on July 22 The building, known as 571 Revere, the former site of the Cove Bar on Revere Street,  is the latest initiative by The Neighborhood Developers to provide affordable housing to Revere’s residents. At the beginning of the ceremony, Rafael Mares, the executive director for The Neighborhood Developers, underscored the need for the mixed-income development. As he noted, more than 2,000 market-rate rental units have been completed, started, or planned in the Waterfront square development. With the completion of 571 Revere, The Neighborhood Developers integrates 51 affordable rental units and creates a physical connection to the existing neighborhood. The organization hopes that the project’s bright future will inspire more conversations about community well-being.

The Neighborhood Developers designed 571 Revere to respond to a vast variety of needs across the City of Revere. The development includes one, two, and three-bedroom apartments with varying affordable rent levels

571 Revere demonstrates The Neighborhood Developer’s continued commitment to the city of Revere. “571 Revere builds upon our successful community development work in Revere, where, since 2010, we have served more than 1,000 residents through our workforce development programs, preserved and created 137 affordable rental homes, funded and rebuilt public parks and public art, expanded our workforce development programs of CONNECT, and hosted many community events,” said Rafael Mares.  The ribbon cutting ceremony shall be an especially auspicious occasion for the City as it begins to pull itself up from the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“571 Revere stands as testament to what can be accomplished when government, developers, and other community stakeholders work strategically for the benefit of our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Brian M. Arrigo. “Offering a wide array of units restricted to certain income levels and just steps away from the beach, this building replicates the unique configurations that have made Revere a city we all love. A majority of these units have been offered to long-time Revere residents, and I am proud of the work we have done throughout the course of my administration to further our promotion of housing affordability,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo.

List of All Funders:

• Boston Financial Investment Management

• Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD)

• HOME funding provided by the North Suburban Consortium through the Malden Redevelopment Authority

• Santander Bank

• MassHousing

• Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC)

• Dorfman Capital

• LISC Boston

• The Life Initiative

List of Project Partners:

• Contractor: NEI General Contracting

• Architect: Arrowstreet

• Development Consultant: Peter Munkenbeck (pronounced “Mun-ken-beck”)

• Legal Counsel: Klein Hornig; D’Ambrosio Brown; and Noble, Wickersham and Heart

• Owner’s Rep.: Matt Munkenbeck

• Environmental Engineer: Irwin Engineers

• Civil Engineer: Hancock Associates

• Landscape Architect: Off-Shoots

• Geotechnical Engineer: The Geotechnical Partnership

• Property Manager: Winn Residential

• Accountant: AAF CPAs

• Metro Housing Boston: overseeing the rental assistance that makes homes affordable

SourceRevere Journal

Lt. Governor Announces State Grants for Child Care Centers in East Boston

Last Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Early Education and Care Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy stopped by the East Boston Social Centers (EBSC) in Central Square for a tour, and to announce $7.5 million in Early Education and Out of School Time Capital Fund (EEOST) capital improvement grants to 36 organizations to renovate childcare facilities that serve primarily low-income families like EBSC.

Polito said the Baker-Polito Administration teamed up with the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF) and its affiliate the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) for the $227,000 in grant money towards the Social Centers. EBSC and the other thirty-five recipients all received grants between $100,000 to $250,000 to provide capital funding needed to address health and safety concerns related to COVID-19.

“These awards announced today – which mark the largest total amount awarded since the inception of the EEOST grants – will improve child care programs across the state,” said Polito last week at the Social Centers. “Now more than ever, as families return to workplaces, investments in early education and care settings are vital to provide necessary resources to children and their families through high-quality early childhood education and out-of-school time programs.”

The capital grants will help continue to support major renovation and construction projects at EBSC and improve the quality of learning environments for the over 300 children they serve.

The Social Centers previously received an EEOST grant last July and EBSC Executive Director Justin Pasquariello was excited to show Polito how the previous round of funding helped improve the Social Centers’ facilities. He also thanked the Lieutenant Governor for continuing to support EBSC’s capital improvements with the latest round of funding.

“We at the East Boston Social Centers were honored to host Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and EEC Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy for a tour of our early education and school age programs,” said Pasquariello. “We were grateful to show them the high-quality, safe facilities the EEOST grant has funded at the East Boston Social Centers. The Commonwealth’s recognition of the increased cost of providing high-quality, safe care during the COVID pandemic has been essential for our ability to be fully open for early education, school age programs, and full-day in-person remote learning support from July 2020.  Their investments in our facilities, commitment to paying parent fees, additional grants, and investments in our workforce are critical as our essential sector continues to meet the needs of children and families across the commonwealth.”

The Early Education and Out of School Time capital improvement grants are financed through the state’s capital budget and provide matching funds that leverage private investment. More than $200 million in public and private investments have been leveraged throughout the life of the grant program.  The Baker-Polito Administration’s FY21 Capital Budget Plan included funding for the Early Education and Out of School Time capital improvement grant program.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to learn in high-quality, safe, healthy, and joyous education environments,” said Commissioner Aigner-Treworgy at last week’s event. “Well-designed classrooms and play spaces can greatly enhance early learning and support children to grow and thrive.”

In a statement after the event Gov. Charlie Baker said his administration is committed to supporting childcare providers like the Social Centers who have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to care for children and support families returning to work.

“Since the start of this grant program, we’ve invested more than $39.2 million in capital funding at childcare programs that impact the learning experiences of more than 9,000 children in communities across Massachusetts,” he said.

SourceEast Boston Times- Free Press

Early education programs get financial boost from state

The state has awarded $7.5 million in Early Education and Out of School Time Capital Fund (EEOST) capital improvement grants to thirty-six organizations across the state to renovate childcare facilities that serve primarily low-income families.

The Baker-Polito Administration and the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF), with its affiliate the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) is providing grants to child care centers and out-of-school time programs range from $100,000-$250,000. This year the emphasis shifted to provide capital funding needed to address health and safety concerns related to COVID-19, including major renovation and construction projects at facilities.

“Our Administration is pleased to support childcare providers across the Commonwealth who have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to care for children and support families returning to work,” said Governor Charlie Baker.  “Since the start of this grant program, we’ve invested more than $39.2 million in capital funding at childcare programs that impact the learning experiences of more than 9,000 children in communities across Massachusetts.”

The Early Education and Out of School Time capital improvement grants are financed through the state’s capital budget and provide matching funds that leverage private investment. The Baker-Polito Administration’s FY21 Capital Budget Plan included funding for the Early Education and Out of School Time capital improvement grant program.

The following organizations received grants:

Project Location Applicant Funding
Beverly Beverly Children’s Learning Center $207,000
Boston Kwong Kow Chinese School $146,000
Boston United South End Settlements $250,000
Brockton Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro South $177,000
Brockton Fuller Arts & Sciences dba Westfield Child Center $115,000
Brockton Brockton Day Nursery $131,000
Brockton Old Colony YMCA $247,000
Dorchester Catholic Charities Yawkey Child Care Center $179,000
Dorchester Greenwood Shalom Outreach Community, Inc. $250,000
Dudley Boys and Girls Club of Webster-Dudley $204,000
East Boston East Boston Social Centers $227,000
Framingham SMOC $250,000
Gloucester Pathways for Children $250,000
Haverhill YMCA of the North Shore (Haverhill YMCA) $242,000
Holyoke Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke $250,000
Holyoke Holyoke YMCA $200,000
Lawrence Community Day Care Center of Lawrence, Inc. (d.b.a. The Community Group) $102,000
Lawrence YWCA of Northeastern Massachusetts $243,000
Lynn YMCA of Metro North $186,000
Lynn Boys and Girls Club of Lynn $250,000
Nantucket Small Friends on Nantucket $129,000
New Bedford PACE $250,000
New Bedford YMCA Southcoast $250,000
New Bedford West End Day Nursery $250,000
North Adams Child Care of the Berkshires $207,000
Revere For Kids Only Afterschool $247,000
Roxbury Hattie B. Cooper Community Center $250,000
Roxbury Paige Academy $250,000
Roxbury YMCA of Greater Boston $221,000
Somerville Elizabeth Peabody House Association $205,000
Springfield Springfield Day Nursery (d.b.a Square One) $157,000
Stoneham Boys and Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield $225,000
Waltham Waltham Boys and Girls Club $105,000
West Springfield West Springfield Boys and Girls Club $250,000
Whitinsville George Marston Whitin Memorial Community Association (d.b.a. The Whitin Community Center) $250,000
Worcester YWCA of Central Massachusetts $142,000

SourceWWLP.com

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $7.5 Million to Early Education Programs

The Baker-Polito Administration and the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF), with its affiliate the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), awarded $7.5 million in Early Education and Out of School Time Capital Fund (EEOST) capital improvement grants to thirty-six organizations to renovate childcare facilities that serve primarily low-income families. Lt. Governor Karyn Polito made the announcement today at East Boston Social Centers, a child care provider in East Boston that serves more than 300 children.

The grants to child care centers and out-of-school time programs range from $100,000-$250,000, and this year the emphasis shifted to provide capital funding needed to address health and safety concerns related to COVID-19.

The capital grants support major renovation and construction projects at early education and out-of-school time facilities to improve the quality of learning environments for children in Massachusetts.

“Our Administration is pleased to support childcare providers across the Commonwealth who have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to care for children and support families returning to work,” said Governor Charlie Baker.  “Since the start of this grant program, we’ve invested more than $39.2 million in capital funding at childcare programs that impact the learning experiences of more than 9,000 children in communities across Massachusetts.”

“These awards announced today – which mark the largest total amount awarded since the inception of the EEOST grants – will improve child care programs across the state,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “Now more than ever, as families return to workplaces, investments in early education and care settings are vital to provide necessary resources to children and their families through high-quality early childhood education and out-of-school time programs.”

The Early Education and Out of School Time capital improvement grants are financed through the state’s capital budget and provide matching funds that leverage private investment. More than $200 million in public and private investments have been leveraged throughout the life of the grant program.  The Baker-Polito Administration’s FY21 Capital Budget Plan included funding for the Early Education and Out of School Time capital improvement grant program.

EEOST was designed to support the learning and healthy development of young children, many of whom spend more than 40 hours a week in early learning and after-school settings. Approximately 80% of the children in EEOST-funded programs are from low-income families. EEOST grants transform these learning environments so that children have safe, developmentally appropriate spaces.

“With these critical investments, we can help child care providers, serving low-income communities, improve their facilities in order to boost quality and provide young learners with resources to succeed in the classroom and beyond,” said Education Secretary James Peyser. “We are pleased to provide these critical resources necessary to sustain the Commonwealth’s essential childcare infrastructure.”

“Every child deserves the opportunity to learn in high-quality, safe, healthy, and joyous education environments,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy. “Well-designed classrooms and play spaces can greatly enhance early learning and support children to grow and thrive.”

“This year’s grants will reach five times as many providers as last year,” said Theresa Jordan, Director of the Children’s Investment Fund, an affiliate of CEDAC.  “It is funding critical improvements needed during the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the enormous effort undertaken by child care providers over the past year to create safe environments for children.”

The following organizations received grants:

Project Location Applicant Funding
Beverly Beverly Children’s Learning Center $207,000
Boston Kwong Kow Chinese School $146,000
Boston United South End Settlements $250,000
Brockton Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro South $177,000
Brockton Fuller Arts & Sciences dba Westfield Child Center $115,000
Brockton Brockton Day Nursery $131,000
Brockton Old Colony YMCA $247,000
Dorchester Catholic Charities Yawkey Child Care Center $179,000
Dorchester Greenwood Shalom Outreach Community, Inc. $250,000
Dudley Boys and Girls Club of Webster-Dudley $204,000
East Boston East Boston Social Centers $227,000
Framingham SMOC $250,000
Gloucester Pathways for Children $250,000
Haverhill YMCA of the North Shore (Haverhill YMCA) $242,000
Holyoke Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke $250,000
Holyoke Holyoke YMCA $200,000
Lawrence Community Day Care Center of Lawrence, Inc. (d.b.a. The Community Group) $102,000
Lawrence YWCA of Northeastern Massachusetts $243,000
Lynn YMCA of Metro North $186,000
Lynn Boys and Girls Club of Lynn $250,000
Nantucket Small Friends on Nantucket $129,000
New Bedford PACE $250,000
New Bedford YMCA Southcoast $250,000
New Bedford West End Day Nursery $250,000
North Adams Child Care of the Berkshires $207,000
Revere For Kids Only Afterschool $247,000
Roxbury Hattie B. Cooper Community Center $250,000
Roxbury Paige Academy $250,000
Roxbury YMCA of Greater Boston $221,000
Somerville Elizabeth Peabody House Association $205,000
Springfield Springfield Day Nursery (d.b.a Square One) $157,000
Stoneham Boys and Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield $225,000
Waltham Waltham Boys and Girls Club $105,000
West Springfield West Springfield Boys and Girls Club $250,000
Whitinsville George Marston Whitin Memorial Community Association (d.b.a. The Whitin Community Center) $250,000
Worcester YWCA of Central Massachusetts $142,000

All the programs receiving a grant award serve publicly subsidized families and have demonstrated financial need. All the grantees are non-profit corporations or organizations in which a non-profit corporation has a controlling interest. The Department of Early Education and Care partners with CEDAC’s affiliate, the Children’s Investment Fund, to administer the grants.

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SourceMass.gov

Rockport State boosts affordable housing project

Now with state and federal backing, Rockport’s Granite Street Crossing affordable housing project will finally be able to get off the ground after nearly five years of planning.

The project is one of 28 affordable housing projects across the Commonwealth that Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday afternoon announced will receive a total of $139 million in funding and tax credits.

“As Massachusetts continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we continue to prioritize new affordable housing development to help our most vulnerable families,” Baker said. “Stable housing is the foundation of healthy, prosperous communities, which is why our administration has proposed an immediate infusion of nearly $1 billion in federal recovery funds to rapidly increase capacity for production in every part of the state.”

With this news, Harborlight Community Partners (HCP) can move forward with the approximately $9.5 million project.

“This is around a $7.5 million state and federal investment,” explained Harborlight Executive Director Andrew DeFranza. “This is a huge deal. We’re thrilled to once again partner with the community of Rockport to create another affordable housing community. This will be intergenerational this time, so we’re really excited about that. Hopefully it will spur more support for more senior housing services, especially in the wake of COVID.”

Construction is expected to begin next spring, DeFranza said. If all goes well, the complex will open for occupancy in summer 2023.

Granite Street Crossing will feature a two-story complex with 17 supportive senior units and six, two-story family townhouses. It will be built at 5 Granite St., a plot of more than an acre previously owned by Silva Brothers Florists.

“I am so pleased Cape Ann will have another beautiful, affordable Harborlight project,” said Robert Gillis, president of Harborlight’s board of directors, in a prepared statement. “More affordable housing is needed in our community and Cape Ann Savings Bank is proud to support HCP and be part of the effort to get this done.”

Granite Street Crossing has been in the works since 2016. Despite the long planning stage, DeFranza said it was “one of the best permitting experiences we’ve ever had.”

“I want to shout out the neighbors of the project,” he said. “They’re the gold standard. We spent a year with them working on the designs, and they gave a lot a feedback. They also were robustly supportive of the project at public meetings.”

The town of Rockport has given around $500,000 to Granite Street Crossing over the years. The project received three Rockport Community Preservation Committee grants between 2017 to 2019 and a portion of the town’s federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding.

In addition, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston awarded the project a $500,000 grant in 2018. Additional funding was also provided by Eastern Bank and the North Shore HOME Consortium.

This is not the first time Harborlight Community Partners requested state funding for Granite Street Crossing. The state rejected a previous application in 2018. The following year, Harborlight Director of Real Estate Development  Kristin Carlson told the Times it was due to the lack of support from local organizations. Now, in addition to Rockport Community Development Corporation and HOME, project partners include include the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., Local Initiatives Support Corp., and Enterprise Foundation.

Granite Street Crossing will be Harborlight Community Partners’s third affordable housing development in Rockport. The non-profit owns and manages Rockport High School Apartments and Pigeon Cove Ledges, which account for 40% of the town’s affordable housing stock.

Michael Cronin may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or mcronin@gloucestertimes.com.

SourceGloucester Times

Baker-Polito Administration Announces $139 Million in Funding and Tax Credits to Produce and Preserve 1,346 Units of Affordable Rental Housing

Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox joined local legislators and officials to announce affordable housing awards for 28 projects in 21 communities across the Commonwealth. These awards will advance the development of 1,526 new rental units, including 1,346 rental units affordable for low- and extremely low-income households.

Through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $93.3 million in direct subsidy funding and allocated $45.8 million in federal and state housing tax credits that will generate approximately $310 million in equity in support of these projects. The projects are located in every region of Massachusetts, and include new construction, historic rehabilitation, and the preservation of occupied projects in need of rehabilitation. Additionally, some projects are transit-oriented, and eight of the construction projects will be built to Passive House design standards.

“As Massachusetts continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we continue to prioritize new affordable housing development to help our most vulnerable families,” said Governor Baker. “Stable housing is the foundation of healthy, prosperous communities, which is why our administration has proposed an immediate infusion of nearly $1 billion in federal recovery funds to rapidly increase capacity for production in every part of the state.”

“We are proud to support an excellent project here in Lawrence, another step in an amazing transformation of the Arlington Mills National Historic District into a thriving residential neighborhood, zoned for up to 1,000 housing units,” said Lt. Governor Polito. “Since 2015, we’ve invested in revitalization efforts like this across the state, creating new housing, jobs, and new opportunities for cities and towns and have directed more than $1.4 billion to our affordable housing ecosystem. Cities like Lawrence are using state and federal funds to pursue a new vision that puts housing at the center of communities.”

“Here in Massachusetts, we have seen the negative impacts of our housing crisis affect nearly every region. Through our new Housing Choice reforms, new programs, and increased capital investments, the Baker-Polito Administration is helping move great projects forward, more quickly,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Kennealy. “Solving our housing crisis helps all of our households, enabling our working families to put down roots in communities, stabilize vulnerable families, and provide opportunities for cities and town to grow. We are excited to deploy federal recovery funding to supercharge the pipeline of affordable housing in Massachusetts.”

“Today’s awards will bring new, affordable housing that meets the diverse needs of our Commonwealth, including new senior housing in Randolph, new permanent supportive housing for unaccompanied adults in Quincy, preservation of currently affordable housing in Holyoke, and new family housing in West Roxbury,” said Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Maddox. “These projects will provide thousands of households with access to safe, quality, affordable housing in every region. Affordable housing development and preservation is an integral part of our strategy to address our housing crisis, and we are fortunate to have a rich ecosystem of stakeholders and developers committed to the future of Massachusetts and our families.”

Today’s announcement was made in Lawrence at the site of a project that will transform a former mill into new housing for residents. The historic adaptive re-use project, sponsored by Trinity Financial, Inc., will create 87 new units of housing at 608 Broadway, with 66 units restricted for households earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income, including 17 units further reserved for households with extremely low-incomes or making the transition from homelessness. DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income tax credits (LIHTC) and subsidy funds, and the City of Lawrence will provide funding as well. MassHousing is supporting the project with a $22.75 million permanent mortgage, a tax-exempt short-term equity bridge loan, and $2.1 million in workforce housing financing.

“I am proud to be a part of the state’s efforts to expand access to affordable housing and ensure that each of our residents can find a place to call home in an increasingly expensive housing market,” said State Senator Barry Finegold.  “In addition to putting a roof over the heads of the state’s most vulnerable residents, affordable housing boosts economic growth and is a crucial part of post-pandemic recovery.  This is especially important in a city like Lawrence, where the unemployment rate remains double that of the state average. Congratulations to all the grant recipients and thank you for your dedicated work providing stable housing to those who need it most.”

“This funding will provide critical state investments to the City of Lawrence as we continue to make affordable housing in Massachusetts more accessible to those facing financial uncertainty,” said State Representative Frank A. Moran.  “The conversion of 608 Broadway will accomplish this goal by creating 87 new units of housing, while also celebrating Lawrence’s rich industrial history by ensuring that our mill buildings are utilized and brought into the modern age. I would like to thank Governor Baker and the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development for their continued support of initiatives such as this in Lawrence.”

“Having accessible housing options in Lawrence is a necessity for our community members and their well-being,” said Lawrence Mayor Kendrys Vasquez.  “Lawrence is a community; safe and affordable housing is vital for our residents to thrive. This partnership between the city and the state will provide Lawrencians opportunities to deepen their roots in the city that they love. I am proud of the work we are doing to create housing opportunities and grateful to all the people partnering with us.”

“Trinity Financial is grateful for the Baker-Polito Administration’s leadership on affordable housing and their commitment to the Gateway City of Lawrence,” said Dan Drazen, Vice President, Development at Trinity Financial. “This tax credit award will enable us to leverage both public and private funding and undertake a transformative adaptive reuse project. Building upon the momentum of our adjacent Arlington Point project, which was completed in 2019, the 608 Broadway project will breathe new life into a historic asset, provide mixed-income housing and continue the multi-phase revitalization of the Arlington Mills Historic District.”

Last month, Governor Baker announced a plan to devote $1 billion from the Commonwealth’s direct federal aid to funding homeownership and housing priorities, a significant investment to help increase housing production and reduce barriers to owning a home as part of the ongoing COVID-19 recovery effort. This funding plan calls for $200 million to fund rental housing production and provide increased housing options to workers and residents of disproportionately impacted municipalities, and $300 million to finance the statewide production of senior and veteran housing. These new housing resources build upon over $1.6 billion in separate federal funding that has already been allocated to entities throughout the Commonwealth for housing purposes since the start of the pandemic.

The Baker-Polito Administration has shown a deep commitment to increasing the production of housing across all income levels. Since 2015, the administration has invested more than $1.4 billion in the affordable housing ecosystem, resulting in the production and preservation of more than 22,000 housing units, including over 19,000 affordable units. In 2018, Governor Baker signed the largest housing bond bill in Massachusetts history, committing more than $1.8 billion to the future of affordable housing production and preservation.

This year, Governor Baker signed economic development legislation titled An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth that includes substantial new funding for affordable and climate-resilient housing, as well as targeted zoning reforms to advance new housing production. In June, the administration and MassHousing made the first commitments through the CommonWealth Builder program, an initiative intended to create homeownership opportunities and build generational wealth in communities of color. The administration has also supported the development of more than 17,000 mixed-income housing units through the successful MassWorks Infrastructure Program, reformed the Housing Development Incentive Program, and worked with communities to implement smart-growth development and planning efforts.

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Affordable Rental Housing Awards

Rosewood Way Townhouses is a new construction project for families to be built in Agawam.  The sponsor is the non-profit Way Finders, Inc.  DHCD is supporting the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  When completed, Rosewood Way Townhouses will offer 62 total units.  Forty-seven units will be affordable to families earning less than 60% of area median income (AMI), with 20 units reserved for extremely low-income families earning less than 30% of AMI.

Amherst Supportive Studio Housing is a new construction project to be built in Amherst.  The non-profit sponsor is Valley Community Development Corporation.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Amherst also will provide $700,000 in funds of its own to support the project.  When completed, Amherst Supportive Studio Housing will offer 28 total studio units with supportive services.  Twenty units will be affordable to individuals earning less than 60% of AMI, with 12 units reserved for extremely low-income individuals earning less than 30% of AMI and, in some cases, making the transition from homelessness.  The sponsor intends to build the project to Passive House standards.

Hillcrest Acres is an existing occupied project in Attleboro.  Schochet Companies recently acquired the project and will rehabilitate it as mixed-income rental housing for families. DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds. When construction is completed, the project will offer 100 rehabilitated units.  Fifty-two units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with 13 units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI.

Burbank Terrace is a transit-oriented new construction project for families to be built in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.  The sponsor is the non-profit Fenway Community Development Corporation.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Boston also will support the project with $2.8 million in its own funds.  Burbank Terrace is the first project to proceed under Boston’s Compact Living Policy Pilot Program.  When completed, the project will offer 27 total units, all of which will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI.  Seven units will be further restricted for extremely low-income households earning less than 30% of AMI and making the transition homelessness.

Eva White Apartments is an occupied public housing project for seniors located in Boston’s South End.  The sponsor is a partnership between the non-profit Castle Square Tenants Association and WinnDevelopment.  The partnership will fully rehabilitate this transit-oriented project with DHCD resources including federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  When completed, Eva White Apartments will feature 102 total units.  Ninety-seven units will be restricted for seniors earning less than 60% of AMI, with 26 units further restricted for extremely low-income seniors earning less than 30% of AMI.  The sponsor will continue offering extensive on-site supportive services for Eva White residents.

Old Colony Phase Four Bonds is part of the ongoing redevelopment of a massive public housing project located in South Boston.  The sponsor is Beacon Communities Development LLC.  With support from the federal government, the Boston Housing Authority, and DHCD, the sponsor already has completed or is completing work on over 550 units located on the South Boston site.  DHCD will support this new phase with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  When completed, this phase of the project will offer 75 total units.  All 75 units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with ten units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI.  The Old Colony site is transit-oriented and also located in close proximity to Boston Harbor, with its beaches and extensive recreational opportunities.  The sponsor intends to build this phase of Old Colony to Passive House standards.

Old Colony Phase Four Taxable also is part of the ongoing redevelopment of a massive public housing project located in South Boston.  The sponsor is Beacon Communities Development LLC.  With support from the federal government, the Boston Housing Authority, and DHCD, the sponsor already has completed or is completing work on over 550 units located on the South Boston site.  DHCD will support this new phase with federal low-income housing tax credits.  When completed, this phase will offer 26 total units.  All 26 units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with four units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI.  The Old Colony site is transit-oriented and also located in close proximity to Boston Harbor, with its beaches and extensive recreational opportunities.  The sponsor intends to build this phase of Old Colony to Passive House standards.

Residences Off Baker is a new construction project for families to be built in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood.  The sponsor is the non-profit B’nai B’rith.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Boston will provide $3.8 million of its own funds to support the project.  When completed, Residences Off Baker will offer 60 total units.  Forty-five units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with 15 units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI, including households transitioning from homelessness.

William Barton Rogers School is a historic adaptive re-use project for seniors located in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood.  The sponsor is Pennrose, LLC.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Boston will support the project with approximately $4 million in its own funds.  When completed, Rogers School will offer 74 total units.  Fifty units will be affordable for seniors earning less than 60% of AMI, with 11 units further restricted for seniors earning less than 30% of AMI, including seniors transitioning from homelessness.  The William Barton Rogers School project is transit-oriented: it is located in close proximity to two commuter rail stops as well as numerous retail and commercial opportunities.  Pennrose will offer extensive on-site services for seniors and the broader community, including the senior LGBTQ community.

Zelma Lacey House is an occupied assisted living project located in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood.  The sponsor is the non-profit Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, Inc.  Using federal and state low-income housing tax credits from DHCD, the sponsor will rehabilitate the project into independent living units for seniors.  When completed, Zelma Lacey House will offer 48 units for seniors.  All 48 units will be affordable to seniors earning less than 60% of AMI, with seven units further restricted for seniors earning less than 30% of AMI.  The sponsor will provide extensive on-site services to the residents of Zelma Lacey House.

25 Sixth Street is a new construction project for families to be built in Chelsea.  The Neighborhood Developers is the non-profit sponsor.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Chelsea also will provide funds in support of the project.  When completed, 25 Sixth Street will offer 56 units of rental housing, with 44 units affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI.  Eight units will be further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI.  The completed project also will offer six for-sale condominium units.  The sponsor intends to build the project to Passive House standards.

Carlson Crossing is an existing family public housing project in Framingham.  The sponsor is the non-profit Framingham Housing Development Corp.  Using low-income housing tax credits from DHCD and Section 8 assistance from the U.S. Dept. of HUD, the sponsor will fully rehabilitate the existing project.  When construction is completed, the project will offer 68 total units.  All 68 units will be affordable to households earning less than 30% of AMI.

Merrimack Place is a new construction project for seniors to be built in Haverhill.  The sponsor is the non-profit Bethany Community Services, Inc. (BCS).  The new project will be built on a site adjacent to an existing senior project owned and operated by BCS.  DHCD will support Merrimack Place with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Haverhill also will provide funds in support of the project.  When completed, Merrimack Place will offer 62 total units.  All 62 units will be affordable to seniors earning less than 60% of AMI, with eight units further restricted for seniors earning less than 30% of AMI.  Extensive on-site services will be available to the new residents of Merrimack Place as well as to residents of the larger senior campus.  The sponsor intends to build the project to Passive House standards.

Voces de Esperanza is an occupied project for individuals and families located in Holyoke.  The sponsor is the non-profit Valley Opportunity Council (VOC).  Using federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds from DHCD, VOC will fully rehabilitate the project.  The city of Holyoke also will provide funds in support of Voces de Esperanza.  When work is completed, the project will offer 37 total units.  All units will be affordable to individuals or households earning less than 60% of AMI, with ten units further restricted for individuals or households earning less than 30% of AMI, including those making the transition from homelessness.

608 Broadway is a historic adaptive re-use mill project in Lawrence.  The sponsor is Trinity Financial, Inc.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Lawrence also will support the project with funds of its own.  608 Broadway is the second mill conversion in Lawrence undertaken by Trinity Financial.  When completed, the project will offer 87 total units.  All 87 units will carry affordable rent restrictions.  Sixty-six units will be restricted for households earning less than 60% of AMI, with 17 units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI, and, in some cases, making the transition from homelessness.

Eagle Mill Phase 1 is a historic adaptive re-use project in Lee.  The sponsor is Rees-Larkin Development LLC.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Lee also will support the project with funds of its own.  When completed, Eagle Mill Phase 1 will offer 56 total units.  All 56 units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with eight units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI, and, in some cases, making the transition from homelessness.

555 Merrimack Place is a new construction project to be built in Lowell.  The sponsor is the non-profit Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA).  CBA intends to develop the project to provide permanent housing and supportive services for a population in recovery from substance use disorder.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Lowell also will provide funds to support the project.  When completed, 555 Merrimack Place will offer 27 total units.  All 27 units will be affordable to individuals or households earning less than 60% of AMI, with eight units further restricted for individuals or households earning less than 30% of AMI and, in some cases, transitioning from homelessness.  The sponsor intends to build the project to Passive House standards.

Mill 8 Apartments is a historic adaptive re-use mill project in Ludlow.  The sponsor is WinnDevelopment.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Ludlow also will support the project with funds of its own.  Mill 8 Apartments is the second mill conversion in Ludlow undertaken by WinnDevelopment.  When completed, the project will offer 95 total units.  Fifty-five units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with 12 units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI, including some households making the transition from homelessness.

Glen Brook Way Phase 2 is a new construction project for seniors to be built in Medway.  The sponsor is the non-profit Metrowest Collaborative Development, Inc.  DHCD previously funded Glen Brook Way Phase 1, which currently is in construction.  DHCD is supporting the second phase of the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Medway also is providing $1 million in its own funds to support the project.  When completed, Glen Brook Way Phase 2 will offer 44 units and supportive services for seniors.  All 44 units will be affordable to seniors earning less than 60% of AMI.  At least eight units will be further restricted for extremely low-income (ELI) seniors earning less than 30% of AMI.  The sponsor is working to restrict additional units for ELI seniors.  The sponsor intends to build the project to Passive House standards.

Ticcoma Green Workforce Housing is a new construction project for families to be built on Nantucket.  The sponsor is HallKeen Management, Inc.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Nantucket will provide substantial funds of its own to support the project.  When completed, Ticcoma Green Workforce Housing will offer 64 total units.  Twenty-three units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with nine units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI, including households transitioning from homelessness.

Broad Street is a new construction project for unaccompanied adults to be built in Quincy.  The sponsor is the non-profit Father Bill’s & MainSpring, a highly-experienced operator of shelters and services for homeless individuals.  Father Bill’s will construct Broad Street on land adjacent to a new shelter and office facility, which is expected to begin construction later in 2021.  When completed, Broad Street will offer 30 single-room occupancy units as well as services for homeless individuals currently living in shelter.  DHCD will support Broad Street with federal and state low-income housing tax credits as well as subsidy funds.  The city of Quincy also is supporting the project with funds of its own.

Simon C. Fireman Expansion is a new construction project for seniors to be built in Randolph.  The sponsor is the non-profit Hebrew Senior Life.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Randolph will provide its own funds to support the project.  Simon C. Fireman Expansion will be built on land adjacent to an existing Hebrew Senior Life senior project in Randolph.  When completed, the expansion project will offer 45 total new units.  All 45 units will be affordable to seniors earning less than 60% of AMI, with nine units further restricted for seniors earning less than 30% of AMI, including seniors transitioning from homelessness.  Hebrew Senior Life will offer extensive on-site services, including health-related services, to residents of the new project and of the larger campus.

Granite Street Crossing is a new construction project to be built in Rockport.  The sponsor is the non-profit Harborlight Community Partners.  DHCD will support this intergenerational project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Rockport also will provide its own funds to support the project.  When completed, Granite Street Crossing will offer 23 total new units, with 17 units restricted for seniors.  All 23 units will be affordable to seniors or families earning less than 60% of AMI, with eight units further restricted for seniors or families earning less than 30% of AMI, and, in some cases, transitioning from homelessness.

Plaza Apartments is a new construction project for families to be built in South Hadley.  The sponsor is South Hadley Plaza LLC.  DHCD is supporting the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of South Hadley also is supporting the project with funds of its own.  When completed, Plaza Apartments will offer 60 total units.  All 60 units will be affordable to families earning less than 60% of area median income (AMI), with 18 units further restricted for extremely low-income families earning less than 30% of AMI, including families transitioning from homelessness.

Knox Residences I is the first phase of a two-phase historic re-use and new construction project in Springfield.  The sponsor, First Resource Development, will use federal and state historic tax credits as well as DHCD resources to adapt manufacturing buildings that have been vacant for over 70 years into residential units.  First Resource Development also will construct new residential units as part of the Knox projects.  At this time, DHCD will support Knox Residences I with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The city of Springfield also will support this phase of Knox Residences with funds of its own.  When Knox Residences I is completed, it will offer 55 total units.  All 55 units will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of AMI, with eight units further restricted for households earning less than 30% of AMI and, in some cases, transitioning from homelessness.

Littleton Drive Senior is a new construction project for seniors to be built in Wareham.  The sponsor is Pennrose, LLC.  DHCD will support the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Wareham also will provide funds to support the project.  When completed, Littleton Drive Senior will offer 44 total units.  All 44 units will be affordable to seniors earning less than 60% of AMI, with eight units further restricted for seniors, earning less than 30% of AMI, including seniors transitioning from homelessness.  As required by DHCD, Pennrose will provide supportive services to the new residents of the project.

Woodland Cove II is a new construction project for families to be built in Wareham.  The sponsor is Dakota Partners, Inc.  DHCD is supporting the project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds.  The town of Wareham also is providing funds of its own to support the project.  Dakota Partners will build Woodland Cove II on land adjacent to Woodland Cove I.  The first phase of the project also was funded by DHCD and will move shortly into construction.  When Woodland Cove II is completed, it will offer 63 total units.  Fifty-six units will be affordable to families earning less than 60% of AMI, with nine units further restricted for families earning less than 30% of AMI, including families making the transition from homelessness.  Dakota Partners intends to build Woodland Cove II to Passive House standards.

Sanctuary Place is an adaptive re-use project to be developed in Wrentham.  The sponsor is the non-profit Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA) working in partnership with Health Imperatives.  POUA and Health Imperatives will redevelop a former convent as housing with supportive services for survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation.  When completed, Sanctuary Place will offer eight bedrooms, an upgraded kitchen, and community gathering areas for the intended population.  DHCD will support Sanctuary Place with subsidy funds.

###

SourceMass.gov

CEDAC Backs Mixed-Income Housing in Mattapan

Roger Herzog, Executive Director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), and its Project Manager, Will Morgan, discuss the agency’s predevelopment financing for transit-oriented mixed income housing in Mattapan to be known as 872 Morton Street Village. Interview for BNN News. Aired July 13, 2021.

SourceBoston Neighborhood Network

‘A stepping stone:’ Brewster celebrates groundbreaking for 30 new affordable housing units

It took five years, but the evidence of progress is everywhere.

The newly-paved access road flanked by cement footings for street lights. The cleared lots with white septic and water pipes protruding from the dirt.

With the infrastructure in place, construction on 30 one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable rental units, in what is known as Brewster Woods, is imminent. Standing out of the hot sun, under a tent before dozens of local, regional and state officials that helped make it possible, U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., acknowledged that the ceremonial groundbreaking was indeed an occasion to celebrate.

But it was also a time to recommit to the effort of building and finding housing.

Six shovels await the ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony to begin Tuesday at Brewster Woods, a new 30-unit affordable housing development. The rental units are expected to be completed by next summer.

Solving the housing crisis ‘piece-by-piece’

“This is a stepping stone in addressing the needs we have,” Keating said Tuesday about what he called a national affordable housing crisis that the Cape and Islands has known for decades. But the way it will be solved is piece-by-piece, Keating told the audience, with developments like Brewster Woods.

“Today we’re changing the lives of an estimated 60 people in those 30 units, and you’re saying that number is not big enough, but it sure is if you are one of those people.”

Brewster Woods was developed on town-owned land by the Housing Assistance Corp. and the Preservation of Affordable Housing, and will have eight one-bedroom units, 19 two-bedroom units and three three-bedroom units.

Construction is expected to be completed by next summer and tenants will be selected by lottery.

Are trailers next? Cape Cod leaders seek solutions to housing crisis ‘right now’

Prospective renters can only qualify in two categories: up to 30% of local area median income ($20,300 for one person up to $35,160 for six); or up to 60% of median income ($40,620 for one person up to $67,260 for a family of six). Rents are estimated at $1,087 a month for a two-bedroom apartment for those at 30% of median income, and $1,305 for a two-bedroom for those making up to 60% of median.

It takes heavy lifting, both financially and logistically, by people at all levels of government and finance, to get one of these projects completed, including: a $1.68 million state MassWorks grant paid for the site clearing and infrastructure; a $2.4 million loan from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership; $1 million in Affordable Housing Trust Funds from MassHousing; $450,000 from Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation; $550,000 in Brewster Community Preservation Act money; and $800,000 in local and state HOME funding: $250,000 in Barnstable County HOME funds and $550,000 in Department of Housing and Community Development funds.

Keating urges other towns to act

Keating commended Brewster for actively pursuing the funding it needed to complete the project. He urged other towns that this was the time to act. Money from the American Rescue Plan Act of March 2021 was available to help with housing issues, but Keating said the infusion of money wouldn’t last forever.

“We have to seize the opportunity and be as aggressive as we can,” he said.

State of the Cape:Affordable housing crisis tops agenda at annual meeting

Cape housing costs were already high pre-pandemic, but fueled in part by demand from off-Cape residents wanting to relocate in relatively COVID-19-safe rural areas, Cape housing costs soared by 27% this year with a median sales price of $560,000. Median sales prices on Martha’s Vineyard jumped up to $1.5 million and to $2.18 million on Nantucket. The median sales price in Chatham is $1.78 million.

U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., talks with Housing Assistance Corp. CEO Alisa Magnotta before the ceremony attended by federal, state and local officials.

Rental and home sales inventory is low and the Cape is in need of more than 4,500 rental units, local housing experts said.

“Our lifeblood is affected by our ability to have housing,” Keating said. “We’re going to lose … businesses; we’re going to lose those jobs, and we’re going to lose them because of a lack of housing.”

“Housing crisis is a term we use a lot,” state Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kennealy said. He pointed to Gov. Charlie Baker’s recently successful housing legislation that allowed for a simple majority vote, instead of the formidable hurdle of a supermajority, for towns to change zoning to create affordable housing. The legislation also required a $50,000 bond of those wishing to sue to keep towns from building affordable housing in their neighborhood.

SourceCape Cod Times

Investors Mine For Profits In Affordable Housing, Leaving Thousands Of Tenants At Risk

Charles Clark moved to Boston’s South End when he was a young musician, just getting by. Forty years later, he lives in the same historic brownstone, even as rising wealth has pushed many people out of the neighborhood.

He’s stayed thanks to a nonprofit that’s kept a few hundred apartments like his affordable. Tenants’ Development Corp. is one of the oldest groups of its kind in the nation, protecting the rights of renters — many of them families of color and seniors.

But now, TDC and its residents are facing the fight of their lives, as a Denver-based investment firm battles for control of 36 of the nonprofit’s properties. It’s a tactic Alden Torch Financial and firms like it are using to squeeze extra profits out of the federal government’s chief program for backing low-income housing, according to court cases in multiple states and interviews with more than 20 housing and legal specialists.

Charles Clark, of Tenants’ Development Corp., walks past an apartment in the South End, one of the affordable housing properties managed by the nonprofit. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Charles Clark, of Tenants’ Development Corp., walks past an apartment in the South End, one of the affordable housing properties managed by the nonprofit. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

“They wanted us to sell the units — put them on the market, so that they could reap a lot more money than what they were entitled to,” Clark said of Alden Torch. “I’m appalled, and I’m upset about how they’re handling it.”

TDC officials never imagined this scenario when they tapped into the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program back in 2003, to renovate their buildings. Under these deals, a nonprofit forms a partnership with an investor (often a large bank) that provides funding in exchange for tax breaks. At the end of 15 years, the nonprofit generally gets to buy out the investor’s stake, taking ownership of the property for well below market value.

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At least that was Congress’s intent, housing specialists say — keeping properties affordable for the long-term and in community hands. But the game has changed in recent years, as some project funders began selling off their partnership interests to investment firms with more aggressive profit motives. And those firms are demanding bigger payouts to exit the deals.

This shadowy secondary market is unregulated at the federal level and in nearly every state, a WBUR investigation has found, and it’s wreaking havoc in an $8 billion-a-year program funded by taxpayers.

“Honestly, I think it’s a national crisis,” said David Goldstein, a lawyer representing a Brooklyn, N.Y., housing group that’s fending off one such property challenge from a Wall Street giant. “This is a really serious problem and affordable housing is going to be potentially threatened, especially for places like Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.”

This new breed of investors is challenging housing groups in cities where real estate values have soared. The firms are looking to wrest cash and control away from local nonprofits and developers, lawsuits show, or attempting to oust managers from partnerships. And in some cases, they are forcing the sale of low-income housing to maximize their profits — as they have tried to do in Boston.

“They wanted us to sell the units — put them on the market, so that they could reap a lot more money than what they were entitled to.”

CHARLES CLARK

If investors are successful and properties are sold on the open market, the risk is that new owners could eventually abandon the affordable housing mission, charge higher rents or convert apartments to expensive condos. It’s a risk that looms on the horizon for thousands of residents in Massachusetts and across the country.

With a lack of federal or state oversight, these feuds are largely being decided in courts, where conflicting rulings on contract language only add to the confusion. In the past few years:

  • A senior housing group in Seattle was forced to sell 10 properties for about $250 million. The majority of the money went to Alden Torch and other investors.
  • An Opa-locka, Fla., nonprofit has spent $1.5 million fighting to keep a low-income property after Bank of America sold its interest to a new investor that pushed to sell.
  • A nonprofit was blocked from buying a low-income property in Pontiac, Mich., and preserving the housing for seniors, when it was sued by SunAmerica in federal court. The case is under appeal.

SunAmerica, part of American International Group Inc. (AIG), also has won a first legal round in New York. It has collected years of tax credits on affordable apartments in Brooklyn run by the nonprofit Riseboro Community Partnership, but SunAmerica is now blocking the group from acquiring the property. Riseboro is appealing, and New York’s attorney general has filed a brief supporting Riseboro’s right to the property, saying the first judge got it wrong.

AIG declined to comment for this story.

“New York is a bellwether in affordable housing,” Goldstein said. “If New York loses this right, it will be a bad precedent for the rest of the country.”

A Historic Nonprofit Fights Investors

In Boston’s South End, Alden Torch’s fight with Tenants’ Development Corp. has a direct impact on nearly 400 residents in buildings the nonprofit has cared for since the 1970s, when many South End dwellings had become rundown and poorly managed. Its brownstones run along Massachusetts and Columbus Avenues and several quaint side streets.

“A little bit of everybody lives in the South End. That’s what makes it unique,” said Clark, the musician. Now 70 and president of TDC’s resident-run board, he can’t fathom losing all that TDC has fought for — to an investment firm.

“Greed is all around us. But we’re not going to let that greed destroy what we’ve worked so hard to build all these years.”

Charles Clark is president of the TDC tenant board. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Charles Clark is president of the TDC tenant board. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Under the law, even if ownership changes after the 15-year tax credits end, housing must stay affordable for a total of at least 30 years. But things could shift dramatically after that.

TDC officials estimate they’ll have to spend at least $500,000 in legal fees to resolve their dispute with Alden Torch in state and federal court. The nonprofit’s leaders had hoped to devote those resources to building a new community center for residents. The plan included a gym, space for dance and karate classes, a kitchen for serving lunch to seniors, and room for a peer leadership program for youths.

But the center is now on hold, along with overdue apartment renovations, said Anita Huggins, an executive with TDC.

“It’s early in the litigation, but certainly given the cost, that’s going to impact our ability to move forward,” she said.

As in many of these disputes, TDC’s fight is not with its original investment partner. That was a Pennsylvania firm called Capmark Financial that later went bankrupt, in 2009.

That firm’s tax-credit portfolio, which included 287 properties across the country, was sold at auction in 2011, for $102 million. The buyer was Hunt Cos. of El Paso, Texas. TDC had no say in the matter, and ultimately found itself in partnership with Alden Torch, which later took over the investments.

When TDC informed Alden Torch in 2017 that it planned to buy the South End properties after the tax credits expired, things did not go smoothly.

The sides sparred over the next two years, with Alden Torch seeking appraisals and notifying TDC in a February 2019 letter it should find a buyer for the properties within six months, according to federal court records. The firm then reversed course in December that year, ordering TDC in another letter not to sell. The reason: Alden Torch said it had been “unaware” of TDC’s right to buy the property at a low price once another offer came in.

In early 2020, TDC informed Alden Torch it planned to pay $17 million to end the partnership and acquire the properties, according to TDC’s lawsuit in federal court.

Alden Torch claimed TDC’s purchase plan was “unauthorized” because it did not first receive Alden Torch’s consent. The firm alleged it was being shortchanged, because the properties could fetch as much as $54 million on the market.

A sale at the lower price “would prevent the Partnership and Plaintiffs from benefiting from the substantial appreciation in the value of the Apartment Complex that had occurred over time,” Alden Torch said in the court records.

The firm is seeking at least $34 million in damages from TDC. And to stop TDC in its tracks, Alden Torch’s legal team employed another escalation — filing a notice with the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds to block TDC from buying the property.

David Davenport is a Minneapolis lawyer who represents TDC and other nonprofits in these cases. (Courtesy David Davenport)
David Davenport is a Minneapolis lawyer who represents TDC and other nonprofits in these cases. (Courtesy David Davenport)

“I found it to be super aggressive” for Alden Torch to muddy the property title, said David Davenport, a Minneapolis lawyer who represents TDC and other nonprofits in these cases. “They don’t really seem to care about who they impact or how they impact them. And now they’re going to potentially tie this property up in litigation for several more years.”

TDC sued Alden Torch and its investment entity.

Alden Torch executives declined to be interviewed.

A U.S. District Court judge in Boston ruled in December that the TDC case does not belong in federal court. Alden Torch is appealing. The firm has been disappointed in state court here before: The Supreme Judicial Court in 2018 ruled against the firm’s effort to prevent a Cambridge nonprofit from acquiring low-income apartments on Memorial Drive.

Only Congress Can Clarify The Rules

The majority of these 15-year tax credit deals have ended without incident, housing specialists say. The program has helped build or renovate more than 3 million apartments nationwide since its start in 1986. Only in recent years have these legal challenges emerged, as deep-pocketed investors found ways to poke holes in contracts that locked in tax benefits for investors and counted on their goodwill at the end of the partnership.

The IRS is not regulating the transfers of partnership interests or the exits. It counts on state housing agencies to dole out the federal tax credits and ensure properties stay affordable. But it’s also rare for a state agency to weigh in on 15-year exits. The result: Nationally, no one is in charge.

In Massachusetts alone, tax-credit deals will be expiring on 81 properties over the next four years, affecting nearly 5,000 residents, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data.

“Congress can solve this, and that would be the best outcome,” said Bill Brauner, a senior executive at the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp., a Boston group that provides financing for affordable housing.

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, which allocates federal tax credits in the commonwealth, declined multiple requests to comment for this report. And it has yet to publicly weigh in on the lawsuit threatening the South End properties.

In a recent funding offer for developers, the agency appears for the first time to be trying to exclude from future projects investors that have been involved in year-15 disputes. It’s unclear how this would be enforced.

One state agency on the other side of the country has been raising warnings since 2019 about firms it says are abusing the tax-credit program. The Washington State Housing Finance Commission in a report called out so-called “aggregator” investment firms — those amassing tax-credit portfolios — saying they “often use burdensome tactics that take advantage of legal ambiguities, resource disparities, and economies of scale to overwhelm their nonprofit counterparties.”

The report cited the Senior Housing Assistance Group (SHAG) case, where a federal judge in Seattle ruled that the nonprofit had failed to get a “bona fide” offer for the properties — which was required before SHAG could exercise its right to buy them at below-market value. Alden Torch won in 2019 and forced the sale of 10 low-income properties in the Seattle area for a quarter of a billion dollars.

The commission said the court got the case wrong and warned: “Other courts should not make the same mistake.”

The properties remain affordable and SHAG still provides support services, but it lost out on millions of dollars in equity dedicated to low-income housing.

Squeezing Nonprofits For Cash

Kim Loveall Price, center, director of a nonprofit that operates Ashwood Court, a low-income housing complex in Bellevue, Wash., talks with residents Susanne Sherman, right, and Joyce Hansbearry. (Mike Seigel for WBUR)
Kim Loveall Price, center, director of a nonprofit that operates Ashwood Court, a low-income housing complex in Bellevue, Wash., talks with residents Susanne Sherman, right, and Joyce Hansbearry. (Mike Seigel for WBUR)

One of the biggest players in the tax credit business, with a $15 billion portfolio, is located here in Boston. Last year alone, Boston Financial Investment Management, part of Tokyo’s ORIX Corp., raised more than $800 million from banks and insurance companies to invest in tax-credit funds.

More than 3,000 miles away, in Bellevue, Wash., the firm got into a protracted battle with a nonprofit that manages several low-income properties. One of those is Ashwood Court, home to seniors who live between skyscrapers and luxury condos in the heart of the downtown area, where property values have climbed.

There’s a sense of community at the 51-unit apartment complex, within walking distance of convenience stores, doctors and the library. Residents keep “sharing shelves” in the parking garage, where people can find home goods, clothing and food items for free.

Kim Loveall Price, left, and Joyce Hansbearry, residence manager of the apartments, look through items from the "sharing shelves" at Ashwood Court. (Mike Seigel for WBUR)
Kim Loveall Price, left, and Joyce Hansbearry, residence manager of the apartments, look through items from the “sharing shelves” at Ashwood Court. (Mike Seigel for WBUR)

The nonprofit, Downtown Action to Save Housing (known as DASH), expected at the end of the 15-year tax credit period it would buy out the partnership at no cost and own Ashwood Court. But Boston Financial — which was not the original investor — said it was due far more.

“They just bully you,” DASH executive director Kim Loveall Price said. “They kept threatening that they were going to force the sale … and we kind of panicked.”

DASH took out a loan in 2014 to pay the firm $300,000 and part ways, Loveall Price said. The payment had a special sting, she recalled, when she spotted an opened jar of gravy and some lettuce on the sharing shelves.

“These seniors are so poor that they share half-eaten food,” Loveall Price said. “And I’m giving these [people] $300,000 instead of being able to help with food security.”

Boston Financial chief executive Gregory Voyentzie in an interview disputed Loveall Price’s version of events and said DASH’s contract language did not provide for the low-cost exit the nonprofit was seeking. He said his firm accepted a deep discount to what it believed its clients were owed. But he regrets that the disagreement turned ugly.

“That one is disappointing to me, quite honestly,” he said. In his view, a junior employee at his firm allowed a disagreement over the value of Ashwood Court and the partnership to escalate.

Boston Financial challenged DASH on three other properties, saying it was due about $1 million to exit them. But DASH officials believed they should pay only $69,000, and sued in federal court in Seattle.

An internal Boston Financial email from 2016, included in the lawsuit, sheds light on the firm’s negotiating stance: “Even though they’re a small non-profit, they might be able to just pay us off to get rid of us,” a senior vice president wrote.

As the case dragged on, Loveall Price said, residents waited for badly needed repairs on roofs, decks and windows.

Ashwood Court is a low-income housing complex for seniors in downtown Bellevue, Wash. (Mike Siegel for WBUR)
Ashwood Court is a low-income housing complex for seniors in downtown Bellevue, Wash. (Mike Siegel for WBUR)

A judge ruled in DASH’s favor in 2019, determining that Boston Financial had breached the agreement by refusing to allow DASH to buy the properties. In a settlement, DASH took ownership of four properties for zero dollars.

Looking back, Voyentzie said, “I would have said, ‘Forget it. It’s not worth fighting over.’ ”

He said Congress should “correct” the law so nonprofits have a clear option to buy at the end of the tax credit term. “There shouldn’t be any dispute.”

Ousting The General Partner

Seattle-area housing developer Catherine Tamaro will never forget the grilling she took in federal court in June of 2019. During a five-day trial, Alden Torch tried to remove her as partner and manager of two low-income properties she had run for many years.

The firm claimed Tamaro hadn’t raised rents enough on her tenants at the Parkway Apartments. It complained in court records that her 2018 audit was late and alleged she had breached her fiduciary duty to the investment partner by doing “unnecessary” repairs, such as replacing failed roofs and rotting balcony railings and fixing hazardous broken sidewalks — all upkeep that’s required by the federal government.

Tamaro should have conserved that cash for Alden Torch, its attorneys argued. They said she enriched herself and failed “to maximize partnership income by increasing rental rates” at Parkway to the allowable federal limit.

If Alden Torch prevailed in its lawsuit, Tamaro stood to lose daily control of the two Seattle-metro properties, and her ability to purchase them when the tax credits expired.

“I clearly had the right to buy [the apartments] under that partnership agreement, and they were attempting to strip that right from me,” Tamaro said.

Tamaro’s initial tax credit partners did well in the deal, court records show, more than doubling the money they invested. By the time Alden Torch took over the interest in 2011, any major upside was in the real estate, not in the aging tax breaks.

Again, the firm brought a host of allegations, taking a deep dive into financial statements dating back to 2002, before Alden Torch was even involved. Tamaro said the attacks on her were personal and painful.

“I can’t even describe how unpleasant it is to sit in court and know what’s at stake and listen to them talk about how awful I am,” she said.

U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton sided almost entirely with Tamaro, finding Alden Torch had “sought to manufacture a reason to remove” her and that her decisions to make repairs had been sound. He likened some of Alden Torch’s claims to “looking for the belly-navel lint.”

“I clearly had the right to buy [the apartments] under that partnership agreement, and they were attempting to strip that right from me.”

The firm used the same tactic — trying to remove the general partner — in five other cases WBUR examined. It succeeded in one case; two other cases are pending.

The judge did rule that Tamaro had interfered with a property appraisal, and ordered a new one. Both Alden Torch and Tamaro appealed parts of the ruling, but it was upheld in March.

Tamaro said being embroiled in the lawsuit for several years has cost her dearly, from the $2.5 million she had to spend on legal fees to her multiple sclerosis symptoms growing worse from the stress.

Lack Of Oversight

The new investors in tax-credit interests aren’t the only ones evading oversight. The sellers, like banks and insurance companies, also have faced little scrutiny. The IRS is not monitoring these transfers or their ramifications, WBUR found, nor are federal housing or banking regulators.

Large banks invest in these projects primarily to satisfy their Community Reinvestment Act obligations with regulators, infusing money into less affluent neighborhoods. But when banks or other investors sell their stakes, the nonprofits are left dealing with firms whose intentions are unknown.

Take the case of the Aswan Village Apartments, an affordable housing complex with 500 residents in Opa-locka, Fla., a small city just north of Miami. Bank of America in 2003 backed a redevelopment of the property — then sold its interest in 2014.

The bank reaped between $250,000 and $400,000 in the sale, according to Miami-Dade County court records. The buyer, HallKeen Management of Norwood, Mass., would earn fees helping manage a property it said was “distressed.” But it was eyeing a potential gain of millions of dollars if the property was sold.

“We had no intention of selling the property,” said Willie Logan, chief executive of the Opa-locka Community Development Corp., the nonprofit general partner of the apartments. “We always had a long-term strategy to become 100% owners, because that’s the way you develop wealth and sustainability” in the neighborhood.

HallKeen argued that a sale would provide both it and the nonprofit with about $5 million each. But Opa-locka did not want to lose control of the property. It sued HallKeen and won, in what’s been a costly and time-consuming fight. And it’s not over yet; HallKeen is appealing the decision.

Willie Logan, of Opa-locka Community Development Corp. (Courtesy Opa-locka)
Willie Logan, of Opa-locka Community Development Corp. (Courtesy Opa-locka)

Logan, a former mayor and Florida state representative, blames the bank, in part, for selling to HallKeen. He likened the tax-credit exit battle to sharecropping. “You’re promised something at the end, but you’re just chasing your tail, because they found a way to manipulate, steal, cheat and take it from you,” he said.

Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin said the bank does not make a practice of selling its tax-credit holdings. It did sell its interest in at least one other Florida property to HallKeen in that same period, however. Those apartments were then sold in October 2020 for more than $14 million to another firm, according to the county appraisal office.

“We typically hold our position for the entirety of the tax credit period,” Halldin said.

In a statement, HallKeen chief executive Andrew Burnes defended his firm’s track record. He said it “has never moved, or caused to be moved, a single unit of housing from affordable to market rate.”

“You’re promised something at the end, but you’re just chasing your tail, because they found a way to manipulate, steal, cheat and take it from you.”

WILLIE LOGAN

Transactions like these might receive more scrutiny in the state of Washington, where the housing commission adopted new rules last fall. It started requiring investors to seek its approval when transferring a housing partnership interest to another entity.

In response, Alden Torch sued the agency and its commissioners. The case, filed in federal court, claims the agency acted outside the scope of its authority, “adopting regulations on behalf of local special interests that are both patently unfair and constitutionally defective.”

Across the industry, Alden Torch’s lawsuit against the state regulators is being closely watched. The agency, in its legal response, asserted its “broad authority” to oversee the tax-credit program in Washington and said Alden Torch’s suit lacked merit.

But the agency has ceded some ground. It has backed away from rejecting transfers of partnership interests if a firm was involved in a lawsuit with housing partners. And agency officials are speaking less freely.

The group’s spokeswoman, Margaret Graham, in an email said commissioners had developed “cold feet” about scheduling an interview with WBUR. “Our lawyers advise us that with the ongoing lawsuit, it’s just not a good time for us to be commenting.”

WBUR’s Saurabh Datar contributed to this story.

This segment aired on April 29, 2021.

Beth Healy  Senior Investigative Reporter

SourceWBUR

Aging in community

With a supportive housing and senior care ecosystem and experienced leadership, Massachusetts can serve as a beacon for the nation.

When it comes to aging well, where we live — and how and with whom — has an outsized effect on our well-being. Even before COVID-19, doctors and scientists identified loneliness as the biggest public health threat to aging well. It accelerates the rate of physical decline, doubles the rate of dementia, and increases the prevalence of stroke and heart attack.

To establish a thriving longevity hub in Massachusetts, those of us developing community-based housing must build more opportunities for older adults to overcome isolation: to live — and age — as part of a community.

This past year, we saw the benefits of such an approach firsthand in 2Life Communities, where we manage over 1,300 affordable apartments in Greater Boston. Our apartments — strategically situated in village-center locations in Brighton, Newton, Framingham, and Brookline — are designed to enable older adults to age in community: to live full lives of purpose and connection to the world just beyond the doors of their supportive, dynamic residences.

For older adults in the state, the height of the coronavirus pandemic was difficult, but for the adults living in a community, not as isolating nor deathly as it would have been had they lived by themselves. In terms of physical health, while 9 percent of Massachusetts residents contracted COVID-19, only 4.6 percent of 2Life’s residents did, and less than 1 percent tragically died from it.

Housing is a primary social determinant of health — a fact Massachusetts has taken seriously for decades. The state has been a national leader in affordable housing and community development since the 1960s. The Section 8 rental assistance program, for instance, was invented here, and we have the most extensive network of state-supported public housing in the country. We also have a network of community-based organizations that has grown from various independent grass-roots efforts to a mature system for housing production that responds directly to local needs.

More recently, the state has instituted guidelines, based on 2Life’s aging-in-community design practice, for developers who use state subsidies about how to create adaptable apartments that accommodate seniors’ needs as they age.

But despite Massachusetts’ past and present leadership, the gap between supply and demand for senior affordable housing remains vast. (When 2Life opened a new 61-unit affordable community in 2019, we had almost 1,000 applicants.) With such high housing and other living costs here, many low-income older adults cannot pay for basic necessities, never mind dine out or participate in cultural activities that keep people connected. According to UMass Boston’s Elder Economic Security Index, in 2019, Massachusetts was first in the country in the percentage of single older adults and third behind Vermont and New York for couples without economic security to afford basic costs of living.

Aging in community may offer one answer to that shortfall. The approach combines affordably priced housing with engaging programs, including fitness, wellness, education, and cultural activities. It also provides key pillars of support, such as 24/7 on-site staff response to emergencies, help accessing entitlement benefits to ensure basic needs are met, tech support, and arranging transportation. These services allow people to remain in their community, minimizing isolation even as new needs emerge. Crucially, this level of care and support can be provided at a fraction of what it would cost to provide these same supports to residents living in single-family homes, to say nothing of what it costs to house someone in a nursing home.

Two Weinberg House residents talk together in Brighton, MA.
Two Weinberg House residents talk together in Brighton, MA.KEN MARCOU

What will it take to make aging in community available to everyone? The state needs more subsidized housing and must pay attention to inequities in the current distribution. Black, Indigenous, and people of color older adults are too familiar with inequities in housing and care. The racial wealth gap has grown over the past 30 years, and the oft-cited $8 median net worth of Black Boston households leaves no financial resources for housing or care. Community-based housing developers need to center the needs of communities of color as we develop more affordable supportive housing for all older adults.

Still another huge gap remains. There is a vast middle class that has too much money to qualify for subsidized housing but not enough to afford private offerings aimed mainly at wealthy elders. We will soon be introducing a new offering, Opus, to begin to fill the middle-market gap in Greater Boston. At Opus, every resident will volunteer their time and talents in order to share the activities they love most with their neighbors. This will help keep costs down and residents’ sense of purpose up, which has been shown to reduce even minor cognitive losses.

Thanks to its network of high-capacity, mission-driven, community-based housing organizations, Massachusetts is poised to become a leader in creating a nationally recognized aging in community approach to housing. And with Housing Choice now law, there is a real chance for the state to accelerate housing production.

The affordable housing tradition is rich in our region. With our supportive housing and senior care ecosystem and experienced leadership, we can serve as a beacon for the nation. Building on this foundation, we can work to deepen local knowledge, keep up with changing needs, and accelerate our production to meet demand with a laser-sharp focus on equity. We just need the will to make it happen.

Amy Schectman is president and CEO at 2Life Communities and president of CHAPA. Elise Selinger is real estate innovation manager at 2Life Communities.

SourceThe Boston Globe