Category: CEDAC

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.

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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

Construction is Underway at Bartlett Station in Roxbury

Construction has commenced on 60 new, mixed-income apartment homes at Bartlett Station in Roxbury, which will conclude the first phase of the five-phase redevelopment of the former MBTA Bartlett Bus Yard in Nubian Square.

The 60 new apartments currently being constructed at Bartlett Station Building A will join a 60-unit, mixed-income rental apartment building and a 16-unit condominium building that were completed on the site in August 2019.

The non-profit Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation and Windale Developers, Inc. are partnering to redevelop the formerly vacant, eight-acre brownfield site into approximately 380 new homes for working families, including 166 homes for purchase, 214 apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. The transformation of the former bus yard will occur over five phases. The development project is anticipated to generate approximately 100 retail jobs and 900 construction jobs, with 60 percent of the jobs going to workers of color.

“Bartlett Station is a major component of the revitalization of the Nubian Square area, and this transaction involved a unique partnership with Boston Medical Center that will result in the BMC providing important supportive services for some of the residents with disabilities,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “This a transformative endeavor for Roxbury that will bring new housing and economic opportunities to the neighborhood and we are pleased to be part of the development and financing team.”

“I am thrilled to see the Bartlett Station project move forward to the next phase of construction, which will create 60 new homes that are affordable to residents at a range of incomes,” said Mayor Kim Janey. “This project is a prime example of the good we can do for the residents of Boston when we work together as partners to develop new affordable homes and create jobs, and I want to thank every person who helped make this important milestone possible.”

“It’s exciting to see the community’s vision come to life with this newest building at Bartlett Station. This building delivers on that vision for affordable and middle-income apartments, jobs for workers of color, MBE business opportunities and a housing set-aside for artists,” said Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation Executive Director David Price.

The new affordable and workforce housing currently being constructed at Bartlett Station’s Building A is being delivered through a broad array of financing sources including, MassHousing, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the City of Boston, Boston Medical Center, and tax credit equity from an allocation of federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Of the 60 new apartment homes at Building A, 16 will be restricted to households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), of which eight units will be supported by the federal Section 811 program for disabled individuals, and eight units will be supported by federal Section 8 housing assistance subsidy.

Twelve units will affordable be to households earning up to 50 percent of AMI, with four of those units supported through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. Twenty-three units will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI and nine units will be workforce housing units for households earning up to 80 percent of AMI. The Area Median Income for Boston is $119,000 for a household of four.

MassHousing provided a total of approximately $13.2 million in affordable housing financing for Building A, including $10.1 million in permanent financing, $2.2 million in tax-exempt bridge financing, and $900,000 from the Agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative.

Other financing sources included a total of $14.7 million in state and federal tax credit equity, and $3.5 million in direct support from DHCD. The project is also receiving $1.5 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD.

The City of Boston contributed $2.2 million through its Inclusionary Development Policy and Neighborhood Housing Trust programs and $1.5 million in federal HOME funding.

Boston Medical Center provided $600,000 in financing, which was matched by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a total of $1.2 million. The funds are being administered by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) and the BMC will be providing supportive services to the residents in the eight Section 811 units.

Citizens Bank will provide construction financing and the tax credit investor is RBC Community Investments.

Building A will contain 12 one-bedroom apartments, 34 two-bedroom apartments and 14 three-bedroom apartments. The new building will also feature approximately 10,000 square feet of retail and community space.

The general contractor is NEI General Contracting. The architect is Davis Square Architects, and the management agent will be WinnCompanies.  Construction is expected to be completed in November 2022.

SourceBoston Real Estate Times

Baker-Polito Administration Awards Funding, Vouchers to Seven Affordable Housing Projects for Vulnerable Communities

Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy joined House Speaker Ronald Mariano, Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, Senator John Keenan, and advocates to celebrate the production and preservation of 67 units of supportive housing for vulnerable populations, as well as 100 shelter beds, through $13.7 million in capital funding and project-based vouchers. Today’s event was held at the future home of the Father Bill’s & MainSpring Housing Resource Center, which has received both supportive housing funding and a Housing Choice Community Capital Grant for design and engineering work.

Each year, DHCD distributes capital funds as well as project-based vouchers to pay for supportive services through a competitive process administered by the agency’s Supportive Housing for Vulnerable Populations program.  These supportive services serve veterans, older adults, persons with disabilities, individuals and families who have experienced homelessness, as well as unaccompanied youth.  Some state capital subsidies have also funded emergency shelter beds, including in this most recent round.

“In 2018, our administration signed the largest affordable housing legislation in Massachusetts history, and we have worked hard to invest in the production and preservation of thousands of affordable units in every region of the Commonwealth,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Thanks to our partners in the Legislature and local leaders, we are ensuring that supportive housing remains a key component of our broader strategy to increase production.”

“Permanent supportive housing provides necessary services to our most vulnerable populations, and I am so proud that we have invested in the development of hundreds of units of this type of affordable housing across the Commonwealth available to the families and individuals that have the greatest need,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “Every project in today’s round will result in housing with tailored services that will create an environment that will allow people to thrive.”

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), working with the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), will make available approximately $2.6 million in National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) funding, dedicated to households at 30% area median income or less; $10.7 million in state bond funds through the Housing Innovations Fund (HIF) and the Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF); and 57 state project-based housing vouchers to qualified and experienced sponsors. CEDAC, which manages HIF, works closely with DHCD to administer these rounds and review applications for funding.

Supportive housing provides residents with social and health services, including job training, case management, healthcare coordination, addiction recovery resources, and more. All 67 units are affordable to low and extremely low-income people. There are an additional 20 units that are being supported through vouchers only but are eligible to seek additional state funding in the future. Since 2015, the Baker-Polito Administration has supported the preservation and production of hundreds of supportive housing units.

“Solving our housing crisis requires housing production of all types, including permanent supportive housing for veterans, older adults, people in recovery, and individuals with disabilities, as well as shelter beds for those experiencing homelessness,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Kennealy. “Thanks to this innovative partnership involving DHCD, the city of Quincy, elected officials, and Father Bill’s and MainSpring, the vision of meeting the needs of the most vulnerable among us with a state-of-the-art facility is closer to being a reality.”

“Our team has worked closely with incredible partners like CEDAC to invest in projects that will meaningfully help a diverse set of people who can thrive with support and housing they can afford,” said Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox. “Our department has been committed to keeping our investments in housing development on track. Our housing crisis began before our current health crisis, and I am proud we’ve been able to continue funding the development of new affordable housing in every region and pass important zoning reform to make it easier for communities to promote housing at the local level.”

In Quincy, DHCD is awarding $4 million subsidy funds to Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) for the construction the new Housing Resource Center that will be built across from the organization’s current shelter for homeless individuals. This new multi-use facility will incorporate approximately 100 shelter beds, onsite supportive services, a respite care area, food preparation and dining facilities, administrative offices, and a clinic. DHCD will support this project with $4 million in subsidy funds. The City of Quincy is supporting the project by granting FBMS a 99-year lease at $1 per year and a capital award of $1 million in local housing trust funds, and successfully applied for a Housing Choice Community Capital Grant to cover portions of design and engineering services.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of the longstanding issues that our cities and towns have faced, such as homelessness,” said Speaker of the House Ronald J. Mariano. “The grants awarded today will support organizations that serve our most vulnerable residents and provide them with a path to safe, stable and dignified housing. The Massachusetts House is proud to support the work of the awardees and provide opportunities for them to expand their services. I am proud to have worked alongside the Quincy delegation to help secure this grant for Father Bill’s, and look forward to seeing the positive impact their future facility will have in our community.”

“The Supportive Housing award, coupled with local funding from the City of Quincy, allows Father Bill’s and MainSpring to move forward with its multi-use facility, which represents a new, more comprehensive approach towards preventing homelessness in southern Massachusetts,” said Senator John Keenan, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Housing.

“Father Bill’s & MainSpring are an invaluable resource and advocate for our community. Their innovative work in not only providing stable housing, but also in their efforts in intervention and prevention work are critical to our community members facing homelessness,” said Representative Tackey Chan. “This grant money will make their new facilities a reality and allow their work to be more broad-reaching.”

“The innovative Father Bill’s and Mainspring Housing Resource Center is going to be a life-changer for so many of our most vulnerable community members in the City of Quincy,” said Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch. “I’m proud to partner in this endeavor, and deeply grateful to the Baker and Polito Administration for once again seeing the value in a such a vital local project by granting it a National Trust Fund Supportive Housing Award.”

“We want to end homelessness, not manage it — and the Housing Resource Center will move us closer to that goal,” said FBMS President & CEO John Yazwinski. “The HRC is a solutions-based, proactive approach that meets individuals further upstream in their housing crisis. By investing in day services that re-house homeless individuals more quickly and prevent more people from entering shelter, we will lower public costs, reduce reliance on shelter beds and downtown spaces, and provide our neighbors in need with stability and a pathway to self-sufficiency. Thank you to Governor Charlie Baker and his administration, Speaker Ron Mariano and the Quincy state delegation, and Mayor Thomas Koch and the Quincy City Council for supporting this innovative approach. Together, our community is taking a leap forward in our fight to end homelessness.”

“Congratulations to the non-profit organizations receiving these supportive housing funding awards. Their work is so necessary to providing housing and services to truly vulnerable populations across the Commonwealth,” said Roger Herzog, the Executive Director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC). “CEDAC values our effective collaboration with the Baker-Polito Administration and its Department of Housing and Community Development and its strong commitment to the production of supportive housing through the eighth annual funding round dedicated for this purpose.”

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 affordable housing, resulting in the production and preservation of more than 20,000 housing units, including 18,000 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. 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.

Award Recipients:

37 Wales Street, Boston: The non-profit sponsor, Heading Home, will demolish a structurally compromised building and construct a new, 23-unit building. Located in Dorchester, the project will provide permanent supportive housing to formerly homeless, extremely low-income (ELI) individuals. The project also will be highly energy efficient. DHCD will support this project with subsidy funds and 23 enhanced rental vouchers.

6 Quint Ave, Boston: 6 Quint is an existing, privately owned lodging house in Allston. The non-profit sponsor, Allston-Brighton CDC, will purchase and redevelop this property into 14 supportive housing units targeted toward extremely low-income (ELI) individuals in the advanced stages of addiction recovery. DHCD subsidy funds will support the acquisition and renovation of this project. The Boston Housing Authority also is supporting 6 Quint with project-based rental vouchers.

Ashford Street, Boston: Ashford Street is an existing 12-unit project featuring single-room occupancy (SRO) units as well as studio and one-bedroom units. The sponsor is the non-profit Allston-Brighton CDC. Located in Allston, the project serves extremely low-income (ELI) individuals. DHCD funds will support the rehabilitation and preservation of this project, including improved accessibility, with subsidy funds and four rental vouchers. The Boston Housing Authority also is supporting Ashford Street with 8 rental vouchers.

Father Bill’s Housing Resource Center, Quincy: This project, sponsored by non-profit Father Bill’s and MainSpring (FBMS), consists of a new multi-use facility next to its existing shelter facility. It will incorporate approximately 100 shelter beds, onsite supportive services, a respite care area, food preparation and dining facilities, administrative offices, and a clinic. DHCD will support this project with subsidy funds. The City of Quincy is supporting the project by granting FBMS a 99-year lease at $1 per year and a capital award of $1 million in local housing trust funds.

A Place to Live – 30 Winfield Street, Worcester: The non-profit sponsor, South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), will construct a new three-story building for chronically homeless single adults. The building will consist of 18 studio apartments for at-risk homeless individuals as well as office space for full time case management and a community room. DHCD will support 30 Winfield Street with subsidies and 10 state MRVPs. The City of Worcester is providing $100,000 in local HOME funds as well as project-based subsidies.

Amherst Supportive Studio, Amherst: Sponsored by the non-profit Valley CDC, this project consists of the creation of 28 enhanced single-room occupancy (SRO) units. The building, which will achieve Passive House certification, will include one office for onsite property management and a separate office for a Resident Services Coordinator. The site currently holds a single-family home that will be demolished. The location is highly walkable, less than 1/2 mile to the Town Center and numerous service providers. DHCD will provide the project with 10 MRVP vouchers to assist in the effort to house ten homeless individuals.

New Point Acquisitions, Salem: North Shore Community Development Coalition (NSCDC) will carry out substantial capital improvements, implement supportive services, and convert 18 unrestricted units into affordable units for homeless individuals. Located in the Point neighborhood close to Salem’s center, this project consists of units divided across three, 3-story brick walk-up buildings. The City of Salem is supporting the project with City Home funds of $25,000, CPA funds of $100,000, CDBG funds of $25,000, and 8 rental vouchers.  DHCD will provide the project with 10 enhanced rental vouchers to assist NSCDC’s efforts to house homeless families.  NSCDC will apply to DHCD for subsidy funds in future competitive funding rounds.

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SourceExecutive Office of Housing and Economic Development, Housing and Community Development, Office of Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito

State to give new Father Bill’s project in Quincy $4 million

The state has vowed to chip in $4.2 million toward the planned new Father Bill’s & MainSpring facility for the homeless in Quincy.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced the funding Wednesday after touring Father Bill’s and meeting with guests there.

Baker said the money for Father Bill’s is part of $20 million that would go toward housing initiatives throughout the state.

He said the state needs more housing projects of all kinds to contend with a housing shortage in Massachusetts.

“Housing is expensive because we don’t make enough of it,” Baker said.

The current Father Bill’s building at 38 Broad St. is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new public safety building that will hold Quincy’s police department.

The nonprofit is planning to move across the street into two new buildings.

One building, which will be built first, will consist of a day center with space for programs and training, an emergency shelter and a health care clinic, among other amenities.

The other building, which will be built in a second phase, will hold 30 small apartments for permanent housing.

The project overall will cost about $24 million, said John Yazwinski, president and CEO of Father Bill’s & MainSpring.

Yazwinski said the state money will go toward the first building.

He said the nonprofit needs to find $7 million in private funding for the new facilities, but before even starting a fundraising campaign it has already received $3.2 million in donations.

Construction on the first phase of what is being dubbed the Housing Resource Center is set to begin later this year.

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch called the project a “new beginning.”

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who was also in Quincy, said the new Father Bill’s facility exemplifies a state push toward “supportive housing” for those experiencing homelessness, combining programming and resources with places to live.

“Hopefully, some of the guests can move into affordable housing and free up room at shelters,” Polito said. “This model (lets people) access the support they need.”

The Father Bill’s project was awarded $4 million through the Department of Housing and Community Development’s supportive housing funding  for construction costs and an additional $250,000 through the state’s Housing Choice Community Capital Grant Program for design and engineering services

The new emergency shelter will have 75 beds, about 60 fewer than the current shelter, but the facility will be configured to be able to expand if necessary.

“We want to end homelessness, not manage it, and the Housing Resource Center will move us closer to that goal,” Yazwinski said. “The (center) is a solutions-based, proactive approach that meets individuals further upstream in their housing crisis. By investing in day services that re-house homeless individuals more quickly and prevent more people from entering shelter, we will lower public costs, reduce reliance on shelter beds and downtown spaces, and provide our neighbors in need with stability and a pathway to self-sufficiency.”

In September 2020, Father Bill’s signed a 99-year-lease with Quincy for the new site at 39 Broad St.

Speaker of the House Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, attended Baker’s announcement Wednesday along with the rest of Quincy’s delegation to the Legislature. Mariano called Father Bill’s a “truly great mark on Quincy.”

Yazwinski said, “Father Bill is looking down from heaven and he’s very happy today.”

An architectural rendering shows a new housing resource center planned by Father Bill's and Mainspring on Quincy's Broad Street.

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Joe Difazio can be reached at jdifazio@patriotledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @jldifazio.

SourceThe Patriot Ledger

Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire awarded funds for new affordable housing complex

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox recently announced the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshires (CDCSB) and project co-sponsor Way Finders, Inc. have been awarded approximately $14 million. These funds will provide the majority of financing for Windrush Commons, a new $19 million, 49-unit affordable housing complex at 910 South Main Street in Great Barrington.

The only project to receive funding in Western Massachusetts in this round, the initiative will be supported with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The town of Great Barrington also will support the project with Community Preservation Act funds.

Qualified families, individuals, and seniors will be offered the opportunity to rent apartments at significantly lower than market rates. All units will be “Net Zero ready” energy efficient. Windrush Commons will include a community gathering space with a kitchen, green space, and laundry facilities. The apartments will sit on approximately 2.5 acres. The additional 5.47 acres of the site will be permanently conserved land.

“This award of funds comes at a critical time for Great Barrington. With very few housing units on the market, and a zero percent rental vacancy rate, home prices and rents are out of reach for most households,” said Assistant Town Planner Chris Rembold.

The development team for Windrush Commons includes project co-sponsor Way Finders, Inc. of Springfield; Elton and Hampton Architects; civil engineering by White Engineering; Berkshire Housing Development Corporation as the management agent; and Allegrone Construction. Greylock Federal Credit Union will serve as the Federal Home Loan member bank.

Construction is expected to begin this summer/fall. The project is located in Great Barrington’s Smart Growth Overlay District, which was designed for this kind of development: high-density affordable housing within walking distance of shopping, health services, public transportation, and downtown attractions.

This new project award comes as the CDCSB is putting the finishing touches on Bentley Apartments, its new 45-unit affordable housing complex on Bentley Road, within walking distance of downtown Great Barrington.

“The projects that the CDCSB develops, including Bentley Apartments and Windrush Commons, enable us to address the housing crisis in the Berkshires,” said James Harwood, CDCSB Board of Directors president. “The positive impact on residents who will call these new apartments home is immense,” he said. “It changes people’s lives.”

More information about Windrush Commons and CDCSB economic development efforts can be found online or by contacting Executive Director Allison Marchese at allison@cdcsb.org.

SourceThe Berkshire Edge

MassHousing Closes on $5.5 Million in Financing for 181 Chestnut Street in Chelsea

BOSTON– MassHousing has closed on a total of $5.5 million in affordable and workforce housing financing to the non-profit The Neighborhood Developers, Inc. (TND), to transform a formerly market-rate rental property at 181 Chestnut Street in Chelsea into a mixed-income housing community.

The MassHousing financing will allow TND to extend long-term affordability to households across a wide range of incomes, from very-low-income households to middle-income households.

“By converting existing market-rate apartments to affordable homes with long-lasting affordability protections, this transaction will help ensure that Chelsea residents facing rising rents will be able to continue living and working in this vibrant city,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “TND is a mission-oriented housing developer, and MassHousing is pleased to partner with them on this exciting project.”

“Preserving a historic building as permanent affordable housing in Chelsea’s downtown will help advance long-term community goals and will keep families in stable and healthy housing through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” said The Neighborhood Developer’s Executive Director Rafael Mares. “We believe this project will also serve as a model for how community development corporations in Massachusetts can convert naturally occurring affordable housing into deed-restricted homes for low-income families.”

TND acquired the three-story brick and masonry building at 181 Chestnut Street in 2019. The MassHousing financing will allow TND to rent 30 of the previously unrestricted market-rate units to income-eligible households across a range of incomes, while two of the apartments will be rented at market rates.

Eight apartments will be subsidized with federal housing vouchers and restricted to households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), and nine apartments will be restricted to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI. There will be 13 workforce housing units, of which six will be restricted to households earning up to 80 percent of AMI and seven for households earning up to 120 percent of AMI. The AMI for Chelsea is $119,000 for a family of four. None of the existing tenants will be displaced.

MassHousing is providing TND with a $4.9 million permanent loan and $650,000 in financing from the Agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative.

The transaction also involved $1 million in financing from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), $1.1 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD, approximately $1.5 million in state HOME funds, $700,000 in local HOME funds provided by the North Suburban Consortium through the Malden Redevelopment Authority, $640,000 in financing from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), and $238,052 from a TND loan fund. CEDAC also provided $8.5 million in acquisition financing in partnership with LISC Boston’s Equitable Transit-Oriented Development Accelerator Fund and supported by Partners HealthCare and other fund investors.

181 Chestnut Street advances the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal of creating at least 1,000 new workforce housing units affordable to middle-income households through MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative. Since the inception of the initiative in 2016, MassHousing has committed or closed workforce housing financing totaling $116.5 million, to 54 projects, located in 22 cities and towns. To date, the Workforce Housing Initiative has advanced the development of 4,669 housing units across a range of incomes, including 1,308 middle-income workforce units.

181 Chestnut Street was originally built as a school and convent and was converted to housing in 2015. It is within walking distance to retail shops, restaurants and the city’s commuter rail station and serviced by multiple MBTA bus routes.

The property is managed by WinnCompanies.

MassHousing has financed seven rental housing communities in Chelsea totaling 640 units of housing with an overall original loan amount of $75.6 million. The Agency has also provided home mortgage loans to 754 homebuyers and homeowners in Chelsea with an original purchase principal balance of $90.5 million.

SourceBoston Real Estate Times