Category: Housing

Nonprofit Service Providers Become Developers to Better Serve Families

 

Roger Herzog

Roger Herzog

Community-based organizations serving low-income families, women and children have long understood the benefits of integrating housing and early education services as core aspects of their missions serving these vulnerable populations.

A number of Massachusetts nonprofit service providers have entered the development arena to create projects that co-locate affordable housing and high-quality, licensed early care and education facilities. For providers considering mixed-use developments, there are challenges associated with combined affordable housing/early care and education programs, especially for those new to managing real estate projects. However, planning, a knowledgeable project team and technical assistance from organizations like the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) and our affiliate, the Children’s Investment Fund (CIF), can assist with these projects’ success. When done well, a combined facility

can provide an effective means to support residents as they seek education opportunities and create stronger communities.

The commonwealth of Massachusetts is committed to supporting the production of supportive housing and development of early care and education facilities. With the 2013 establishment of the Early Education and Out of School Time Capital Fund (EEOST), which CEDAC/CIF administer with the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), Massachusetts’ nonprofit childcare providers have a source of capital funding to create and improve licensed early education facilities serving low-income children. Funding from EEOST, state agencies including the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and other public/private financing agency resources can make up a matrix of sources that offset the considerable real estate development costs in Massachusetts.

Bree Horwitz

Bree Horwitz

Three organizations that primarily provide supportive services recently created brick-and-mortar projects with CEDAC/CIF support, including our technical assistance and predevelopment funding, each demonstrating a novel approach to addressing their communities’ needs.

New and Expanded Services

Dorchester’s Brookview House has provided housing and early education to families and children experiencing homelessness in Roxbury and Dorchester since 1990. With 30 affordable apartments and two licensed centers providing educational programming, Brookview is about to start construction on a new $5 million facility that will provide an additional 12 affordable rental housing units for families on the upper floors and an out-of-school program located on the first floor. The project has secured funding commitments from EEOST, DHCD and the city of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development, in addition to commercial loans and the organization’s own fundraising.

In Roxbury, Elizabeth Stone House outgrew its outdated building containing its shelter, housing and supportive services. The new development will create 32 units of family housing for survivors of domestic violence with an early care and education and out-of-school program for 51 children, and a therapeutic program for young people recovering from trauma. The project’s funding includes federal new markets and housing tax credits, city and state support, and an extensive fundraising effort.

Finally, the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts in New Bedford will soon break ground on the expansion of its historic headquarters, creating housing for eight formerly homeless women and licensed year-round care for 50 children. The Y’s project required a thoughtful approach to combine these uses within a 19th century structure in a tight urban lot, but the Y’s innovative proposal gained support from federal, state and local sources.

Multi-Use Considerations

If a provider is contemplating developing a multi-use project, they should consider the following. First, they must plan for the early education and care space early in the process, due to important design considerations. High-quality spaces for children have their own set of design considerations, and teams need to find an architect experienced with early education spaces to ensure the project will meet EEC’s licensing standards.

These aspects cannot be an afterthought and must be included in the project’s initial plans. It may be necessary to bring together architects with residential design expertise in addition to early education and care, as EEOST requires high-quality physical design that often exceeds licensing requirements to create healthy spaces for children. Teams need to consult with experienced consultants to assist with the creation of a sound financing strategy, and coordinate the often complex funding sources that may include new markets and low income housing tax credits, debt, fundraising and state bond financing.

Finally, developers should reach out to CEDAC and CIF early in the conceptual planning phase. The technical assistance our staff offers can help nonprofit developers avoid pitfalls and ultimately save the project time and money by connecting teams with experienced professionals. At CEDAC/CIF, we know that these projects’ educational and residential programs create opportunities and stability for the families served within – and we’re ready to help.

Roger Herzog is the executive director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation. Bree Horwitz is the senior project manager for the Children’s Investment Fund.

SourceBanker & Tradesman

Church Green housing project would provide affordable senior apartments in Taunton

It won’t happen overnight, but a vacant property in an isolated section of Church Green could eventually feature an apartment building catering to income-eligible senior citizens.

“It’s a good site,” said Carl Nagy-Koechlin, executive director of Housing Solutions for Southeastern Massachusetts — a Kingston-based non-profit agency that develops and manages low- to moderate-income housing projects.

The now-unused L-shaped, single-story building at 68 Church Green, which sits directly behind Old Colony History Museum, in prior decades contained a row of medical offices.

According to Nagy-Koechlin, Housing Solutions Church Green LLC has a purchase-and-sale agreement with property owners Taunton Church Green Realty Trust, the members of which include Russell Martorana, Don Backlund and Richard Harris.

Nagy-Koechlin said his group plans to replace the old and dilapidated structure on the 1.5-acre site with a three-story building including 40 one-bedroom apartments for people at least 63 years of age.

Of the 40 units, he said 24 apartments would be reserved for moderate-income tenants with an income of no more than 60 percent below the area median income (AMI), or a maximum of $37,000.

Low-income elders in Taunton, he said, have an annual income less than 30 percent of AMI, which he says translates to $19,000 or less.

Nagy-Koechlin said judging from similar projects undertaken by Housing Solutions, he expects the majority of residents will be retired, single women or widows.

In-depth

The issue

A shortage of affordable senior housing in the city and elsewhere

The impact

A non-profit housing agency is proposing to build an affordable housing development for senior citizens on the site of a long-vacant former medical office building on Church Green.

When asked to explain the higher percentage of women versus men, Nagy-Koechlin said the simple fact is women, on a whole, enjoy longer longevity.

“They outlive men,” he said.

He said the Church Green project is being undertaken in cooperation with Quincy-based non-profit Neighborworks Southern Mass., which, not unlike Taunton’s Pro-Home Inc., provides classes and guidance to first-time home buyers.

The Taunton project, he said, is consistent with the continued lack of affordable opportunities in the Bay State.

“There’s a real shortage of housing on all levels,” said Nagy-Koechlin, noting that Housing Solutions also has had success developing and managing housing for homeless families and group homes for adults with developmental disabilities.

He said the current estimated cost is $13 million to re-develop the site and build the apartment building.

Nagy-Koechlin said the City Council will consider granting a special permit for the project, which he said will include 80 parking spaces — two per unit — as required by city ordinance.

Nagy-Koechlin said he doesn’t expect more than 40 to 50 spaces will be used at any given time by tenants, a number of whom, he said, probably won’t own cars.

During this past week’s Planning Board meeting, a lawyer representing Housing Solutions asked that his client not be required to provide 80 parking spots.

Board member Brian Carr said he recalls the number initially requested being as low as 49, which he said was not realistic.

“There’s no way in hell I was voting for that,” said Carr, whose wife Deborah serves on the Taunton City Council.

Carr said he and other Planning Board members were concerned about a lack of parking spaces for both tenants and visitors to the history museum at 66 Church Green.

By providing an even 80, he said, there would be sufficient “overflow parking” for museum visitors attending special events and presentations on weekends and nights.

Nagy-Koechlin said the non-profit agency is amenable to the idea of providing 80 spaces to accommodate residents as well as people visiting, not just the museum, but First Parish Church, the latter of which lacks any dedicated parking.

The Planning Board made a positive recommendation to the City Council with certain conditions.

They include ensuring that 70 percent of first tenants are Taunton residents; that new PVC sewer pipes be installed in order to access city service; and that an onsite property manager work on premises in his or her office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Planning Board also stipulated that a sidewalk be installed on the “access road” — which the museum owns and which includes an easement — that runs from the street to the rear of the museum building; and that a plan be devised so that “excess parking is allocated for use by others.”

The Conservation Commission, in a letter, said it had no concerns regarding the project.

The access road, which provides non-metered parking on one side, separates the museum from the Bethany House adult day-care center and a series of apartment buildings.

Katie MacDonald said she’s in favor of developing more residential housing in and around Taunton’s downtown district.

But as director of Old Colony History Museum at 66 Church Green she wants an assurance it won’t prove to be unsafe to her patrons and visitors.

“Housing is great for the downtown, but only if it makes sense for the existing neighborhood,” MacDonald said, adding that “our members are our number one concern.”

MacDonald said the museum has parking in front for just 11 vehicles.

“I’d like dedicated (parking) spots,” she said.

She also acknowledged that museum guests and visitors in recent years have been using the rear parking area that belongs to the owners of 68 Church Green.

MacDonald said installing new sidewalks “is a great idea” in terms of safety and will make it easier for residents of the apartments to walk downtown during the day.

If the rear property is cleaned up and redesigned, she said, it likely would discourage strangers from parking at night behind her building and diminish the likelihood of vandalism — both to the museum and the vacant, elongated structure behind it.

A small section of the 68 Church Green site has been painted with gang-related graffiti, and one of its windows is boarded up.

Nagy-Koechlin said he expects to break ground on the project “in a couple years.”

But he says that’s not unusual in his line of work.

Nagy-Koechlin said it takes time to line up funding. The main funding source of his group, he said, is the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

Other funding sources, he said, will include private donors and foundations as well as corporate donations.

Housing Solutions previously developed Carpenters Glen in East Taunton, an affordable-housing project with 32 units.

Nagy-Koechlin said he’s already met with representatives of the museum and church and has scheduled a 6:30 p.m. “community meeting” this Wednesday at First Parish Church, located at 76 Church Green.

He said “a sliver of the building” sits on land designated as having historic value by the city’s Historic District Commission.

But Nagy-Koechlin said he doesn’t anticipate serious difficulties working with the commission.

He noted that the look of the new building will reflect the historical character of surrounding houses and structures.

He also said it will be built on a solid slab but will remain shorter in stature than Old Colony History Museum.

Nagy-Koechlin noted that not including a basement will eliminate any chance of flooding on the low-lying site. He said one section of the former office building has had its basement flooded.

Nagy-Koechlin said a traffic study, conducted at the behest of the city, was favorable.

“It determined the impact would be very minimal and less than when the doctors’ offices were here,” he said.

The late orthopedic surgeon Dr. C. Nason Burden rented space in the old building for his office.

Jordan Fiore, a museum board member, said he’s all but certain that Burden — who was seeing patients in his office while in his nineties — was the last one to move out of the Church Green building before he relocated to Winthrop Street.

Fiore, who besides sitting on the school committee is a member of the Planning Board, said he recused himself from last week’s vote to avoid a conflict of interest.

Nagy-Koechlin said the city, through its economic and community development office, will likely also contribute to the project, possibly with funds derived from the federal HOME program that assists in the development of affordable housing.

He said Housing Solutions, which also has an office in New Bedford, has a similar mission to that of Boston-based non-profit Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, or NOAH, which is planning to develop 38 market-rate and affordable apartments downtown in the Union Block.

The main difference, he said, is that unlike NOAH, which has a wider reach and scale, Housing Solutions concentrates on Plymouth and Bristol counties and parts of Norfolk County.

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/20180113/church-green-housing-project-would-provide-affordable-senior-apartments-in-taunton

SourceTaunton Gazette

Howland House gets second life after escaping demolition

NEW BEDFORD — Guests stepped into the Howland House Thursday evening and exchanged memories of what the
building was and now is.
At the ribbon-cutting to debut the renovations, Patrick Sullivan, director of New Bedford Department of Planning
Housing and Community Development, remembered walking into a building with a “gigantic hole in the second floor.”
The only thing holding up the house was its sound construction, which dates back to 1834.
Susan Terry of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development said when the architect walked
in, his foot went through the floor.
The scene Thursday at 38 South Sixth St. featured fresh paint with new stainless steel appliances and windows.
“WHALE is back in business,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said. “You have really stepped up and understood the core mission of the
organization and the potential here: For WHALE to bring back the life of buildings like this.”
A 2005 fire charred the 19th century 10,000-square-foot structure. It escaped demolition, and in 2010 the Waterfront
Historic Area League bought the brick Federal-Greek Revival home for $237,000.
The Resouce Inc. (TRI), WHALE and architect Christopher “Kit” Wise worked to transform the building into seven
apartments while maintaining its historic characteristics.
The house was originally built in 1834 for John and Sarah Howland Jr. as one of three similar homes in the neighborhood.
The Howlands were among New Bedford’s wealthiest families. John Howland was one of the original 15 trustees of the
New Bedford Institution of Savings.
“There’s just a lot of nit and grit that goes on beyond the high financing and construction management,” Executive Director
of WHALE Teri Bernert said.
When Bernert was interviewed for her current position four years ago, the Howland House topped WHALE’s list of
desired renovation projects.
She drove by the building and was asked if it could be done.
“I don’t know, something about the house, I said, ‘Yeah we can get this done,’” she said.
Thursday her promise became a reality.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20171221/howland-house-gets-second-life-after-escaping-demolition

SourceSouth Coast Today

MassHousing Provides $10.8M To Renovate 61 Units In Springfield

MassHousing announced yesterday it provided $10.8 million in financing to the nonprofit developer Home City Development Inc., to advance the second phase of the substantial rehabilitation of the 136-unit E. Henry Twiggs Estates in Springfield. The project will complete major renovations of 61 scattered-site apartments for low-income families in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield.

MassHousing is supporting the redevelopment of E. Henry Twiggs Estates by issuing $10.8 million in short-term, tax-exempt debt, in a private placement with TD Bank. TD Bank will serve as both construction and permanent financing lender on the project. Permanent financing will result from a taxable execution with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. This transaction is MassHousing’s first tax-exempt conduit loan outside Greater Boston.

“MassHousing’s partnership with TD Bank, and Home City Development, will preserve a key affordable housing resource in Springfield,” MassHousing Acting Executive Director Tom Lyons said in a statement. “Safe, modern affordable housing supports healthy families. Many of properties involved in this transaction are more than 100 years old and in need of major upgrades. By delivering major renovations to the interiors and exteriors of the E. Henry Twiggs Estates properties, this project will dramatically improve the quality of life enjoyed by the residents of the Twiggs Estates, and support the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood.”

The E. Henry Twiggs Estates are comprised of 136 affordable units located in 59 scattered-site buildings, including 41 more than 100 years old, and 18 structures built in the 1980s. Phase One of the rehabilitation effort, which MassHousing was not involved with, completely renovated 75 affordable housing units. The second phase of the project will completely upgrade the remaining 61 units, delivering upgraded heating systems and insulation, new kitchens and bathrooms in all units, new roofing and siding and energy efficiency upgrades, including the replacement of boilers and updated electrical wiring.

Of the 61 units in Phase Two, 16 will be reserved for households at or below 30 percent of the Area Median Income ($24,600 a year for a family of four), and 45 units will be for households earning at or below 60 percent AMI ($39,960 a year for a family of four). Twenty-eight of the units are supported through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program and four units are subsidized through the Massachusetts Supportive Housing Initiative.

In addition to the MassHousing and TD Bank financing, the transaction involved $13.8 million in equity from an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), $1.9 million in DHCD financing, $1 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD, a $2.5 million seller note, $450,000 from the Massachusetts Facilities Consolidation Fund, which supports housing for clients of the Department of Mental Health andDepartment of Developmental Services, and $50,000 from the city of Springfield.

https://www.bankerandtradesman.com/masshousing-provides-10-8-million-to-renovate-61-units-in-springfield/?utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=59536268&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–VAH-TFay6pBfGcFZEscdOFFvrW6r5LoDB5q2mcwIXW5RA0YnKsRxYsD9h4U7L3NFO-RYVaia9fMSc163CbFWrlVqr7A&_hsmi=59536268

SourceBanker & Tradesman

CDC PROJECTS CATALYZE REVITALIZATION OF NORTHAMPTON CORRIDOR

The City of Northampton has spent the last four years developing a plan to revitalize the Pleasant Street Corridor, a stretch that has been identified as an important gateway to downtown Northampton.  Two CDC affordable housing developments have played a key role in the rejuvenation of the corridor.

Way Finders’  Live 155 Apartments, currently under construction, will provide 70 mixed-income studio and one-bedroom apartments when it is completed in the spring of 2018.  Just across Pleasant Street is Valley CDC’s  Lumber Yard Apartments, which will break ground next month on 55 affordable units.  Both projects will include commercial space.

These projects complement the City’s efforts to transform Pleasant Street from a state highway into a city street that serves the needs of residents and local business.  Infrastructure improvements include new raised crosswalks, curb extensions, improved bicycle and pedestrian paths, the addition of on-street parking, landscaping, and a new rotary that provides some separation between the highway and the main city street.

Both projects were assisted by The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), a public-private community development finance institution that provides financial resources and technical expertise for community-based and other non-profit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts.

In its weekly blog, Insites, CEDAC highlights the catalytic role that these two projects are having in Northampton.

https://macdc.org/news/cdc-projects-catalyze-revitalization-northampton-corridor?utm_source=2017+December+Notebook&utm_campaign=June+22+Notebook&utm_medium=email

SourceMACDC News

By-women, for-women housing program helping to save lives

Soldier On, a Leeds, Mass.-based charity aiming to end veteran homelessness, constructed 16 units of transitional housing specifically for women in December 2015 — and they were immediately fully occupied.

“I think the need is much bigger than people realize, because it’s so hard to estimate the number of homeless female veterans, because they’re not identifying as veterans. They’re not identifying as homeless,” said Sara Scoco, the director of the women’s program at Soldier On.

“They’re oftentimes couch-surfing or staying in these relationships. A lot of women are living in their cars just to try and survive. A lot of women are taking care of families and … they’re too proud to say, ‘I’m homeless. I need help,’ ” Scoco said.

So Soldier On became one of the few nonprofits in America to construct housing specifically to meet the unique needs of female vets. The $3.1 million building in Leeds features four suites of four bedrooms for a total of 16 rooms.

There’s a shared living room, and the building sits on the Northampton VA Medical Center campus, which agreed to a 75-year lease to Soldier On for the housing property.

Women can stay for months or years at a time while they seek treatment, go back to school, save money or try to land a job, Scoco said.

Most have experienced some kind of abuse, said Scoco, including about 80 percent who are victims of military sexual trauma.

“It’s really intimidating for a woman to walk into the VA when many of the services are male-dominated,” Scoco said. “It’s often assumed that the woman is not the veteran, but the daughter or sister of the veteran herself.”

As word has spread, Scoco said Soldier On fielded calls from Colorado, Texas and as far away as Hawaii.

The organization receives funding from the VA, among other sources. And it is hoping to receive state money to build permanent housing specifically for women vets in Pittsfield.

The organization started in 1994 as United Veterans of America. As its men’s program grew, women also began to seek services, leading to the launch of the women’s program in 2005, which was mainly a separate unit within the men’s housing.

Then the all-female housing was finished in 2015.

Mary Thurber, who was an active duty Army supply specialist from 2006 to 2011, came to Soldier On after she sought treatment for alcoholism at the VA, where she was the only woman in the program.

Thurber, now one of the 16 vets at the Soldier On Leeds house, hasn’t had a drink in five months and credits much of her recovery to the nonprofit and its by-women, for-women arrangements.

“This place,” Thurber said, “has literally saved my life.”

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/12/by_women_for_women_housing_program_helping_to_save_lives

SourceBoston Herald

Blanchard School housing project receives final financing

The Virginia A. Blanchard School has been vacant for 15 years, but after the last piece of financing fell into place Friday, it should see new occupants – renters in affordable apartments – by early 2019.

The final funding was provided by the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, and included $6.2 million in federal low-income housing and historic tax credits, according to a news release from the agency.

The school will be redeveloped into one-, two- and three-bedroom units, reserved for households with incomes ranging from below 30 percent of the area median income up to 60 percent of the area median income. Developers will give priority to veterans and Uxbridge renters.

The main building will be converted into nine rental apartments, a management office and community space. A four-story addition containing 16 apartments will be constructed at the back of the existing school.

The Virginia Blanchard Memorial Housing Association, which is developing the project along with Jon Juhl of JNJUHL & Associates, has been working with the town since 2010 on a redevelopment plan. Built in 1873 as an elementary school, the building served as an educational site for more than 125 years.

Other major sources of funding include: The Life Initiative ($6 million construction loan), the state Department of Housing and Community Development ($2.2 million), Massachusetts Housing Partnership ($250,000 permanent loan), state low-income and historic tax credits ($1.7 million, purchased by UniBank) and $33,207 of historic funds from the town. The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation provided pre-development funding.

Nunes Trabucco Architects of Needham and general contractor Sugrue & Associates, of North Scituate, R.I., are on the development team.

Harry Romasco, president of Virginia Blanchard Memorial Housing, told selectmen Monday that he would propose that the School Committee set up a Virginia Blanchard scholarship fund with $100,000 in proceeds from transfer of the school to the housing development from the town.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20171201/blanchard-school-housing-project-receives-final-financing

SourceWorcester Telegram

CCRI Supports More Than 500 Housing Units For Veterans

Veterans in Massachusetts and across the country are in need of housing and access to supportive services. MassHousing is partnering with a number of organizations to help increase the availability of quality affordable housing for Veterans.

The funding comes through the Center for Community Recovery Innovations (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary of MassHousing that works to increase the availability of affordable, sober housing and supportive programming.

“The need for affordable sober housing reaches across all populations, men and women, young and old,” said Ed Chase, Director of CCRI. “Veterans are among those whose recovery from alcohol and drug abuse can be bolstered by a substance free and supportive environment in the community. CCRI is proud to collaborate with dedicated local partners to provides this quality housing.”

MassHousing has provided more than $1.8 million in funding to support 520 units of affordable sober housing at 24 developments for Veterans and formerly homeless Veterans in Massachusetts.

CCRI Projects Serving Veterans

Project Name CCRI
Award		 Location Units
Veterans, Inc (Cambridge Street) $50,000 Worcester 9
Montachusett Vets Outreach Ctr. $75,000 Gardner 19
Soldier On $50,000 Leeds 70
NeighborWorks (Fr McCarthy’s) $70,000 Quincy 19
Veterans, Inc. (Grove St) $75,000 Worcester 20
Caritas (North Street) $75,000 New Bedford 19
Bedford Veterans Quarters $75,000 Bedford 54
NeighborWorks (Sansatini House) $75,000 Quincy 10
Fr Bills & Mainspring (Work Express) $75,000 Brockton 32
Mass Sober Housing (Hooper Street) $29,610 Chelsea 5
Veterans, Inc (Sheridan Street) $75,000 Worcester 10
Soldier On $70,000 Pittsfield 39
Fr Bills & Mainspring (Fort Hill) $75,000 Hingham 6
Bi-Lingual Veterans Outreach Ctrs. (Cass St) $75,000 Springfield 19
Volunteers of America (Mass Bay Vets Center) $75,000 Somerville 26
CHOICE (Home for Our Veterans) $150,000 Chelmsford/Westford 13
Veterans, Inc (Sheridan Street) $25,000 Worcester 9
New England Center and Home for Veterans $75,000 Boston 35
Partners in Housing (O’Connor Sisson House) $75,000 Dartmouth 9
NeighborWorks (E Howard Street) $125,000 Quincy 12
Fr Bills & Mainspring (Jack’s Pl & Patti’s House) $125,000 Brockton 21
Veterans Inc (Independence Hall) $75,000 Shrewsbury 35
NeighborWorks (Main St) $75,000 Weymouth 6
Fr Bills & Mainspring (Montello WH II) $75,000 Brockton 23
TOTAL $1,819,610 520

 

Putting CCRI Dollars to Work

One of those developments is Weymouth Veterans House, a six-unit facility developed by Neighborworks of Southern Massachusetts (NWSOMA) in partnership with the Town of Weymouth and Father Bill’s & MainSpring, which received a $75,000 award from CCRI. The two-story property includes six single room occupancy (SRO) units (each with a kitchenette), a community room with a full kitchen, a laundry closet, common restrooms and an office for the case manager from Father Bill’s & MainSpring, a longtime partner of NWSOMA. This home is thriving in the community and is a model for other towns to replicate in the future.

NWSOMA Executive Director Robert Corley attributes the ongoing success of projects such as the Weymouth Veterans Home to the strong partnerships the organization maintains with community members, local cities and towns, and partners such as MassHousing.

“Support from MassHousing through programs such as the Center for Community Recovery Innovations helps ensure that we are able to continue our work year after year to create stable homes with supportive services through creative and comprehensive approaches to ending homelessness, particularly for US Military Veterans, in our community,” he said.

Since 1996, NWSOMA has developed and assisted in the development of 50 homes on the South Shore with a preference for Veterans and their families. Eight more Veterans’ homes under development now. Father Bill’s & MainSpring partners with NWSOMA on these projects, providing emergency and permanent housing, job skills training and other services in southern Massachusetts. Along with transforming vacant, blighted neighborhood eyesores into new, energy-efficient homes and green spaces to support formerly homeless Veterans, NWSOMA also works to raise public awareness of Veterans’ dire predicament and break down the stereotypes that act as barriers.

About CCRI

CCRI issues an annual Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit projects for funding. The proposals that are selected need to meet CCRI’s current priorities, which include Veterans and women with children. The grants are typically used as one-time gap funding for capital projects that increase or improve the stock of affordable sober housing. Programs that provide services to address alcohol and/or drug abuse or addiction. CCRI grant recipients must be nonprofit organizations and matching funds must be provided.

To date, CCRI has awarded more than $10 million in grants for the creation or preservation of more than 2,100 units of substance-free housing, in 50 communities, serving recovery populations that include men, women, families, Veterans, the homeless and ex-offenders.

http://masshousing.typepad.com/my_weblog/2017/11/ccri-supports-more-than-500-housing-units-for-veterans.html

SourceMassHousing Blog

Chinatown Development Includes 51 Affordable Condos

A 51-unit development will provide homeownership units selling for under $200,000 in Boston’s Chinatown, a neighborhood under pressure from gentrification and conversion of apartments into short-term rentals.

Asian Community Development Corp. led the 88 Hudson St. project on parcel 24, which became available from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation following the completion of the Central Artery Tunnel project. The latest phase includes a mix of one- through three-bedroom condos restricted to households earning from 60 to 100 percent or less of the area median income, with sales pricing ranging from under $200,000 to $235,000.

The financing package included a contribution from the city of Boston totaling more than $6 million including $5.9 million from inclusionary development funds and $750,000 from the City of Boston’s Neighborhood Housing Trust, $2.1 million from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development and Housing Stabilization Funding and $1.9 million in Affordable Housing Trust Funds. Eastern Bank provided an $8.9 million construction loan  and CEDAC provided predevelopment financing for the project.

The first phase of parcel 24, the One Greenway project, was completed in 2015. That phase included 312 apartments, including 95 affordable units and 3,300 square feet of retail space.

SourceBanker & Tradesman

Ludlow Mill Redeveloped As 75-Unit Mixed-Income Complex

A $19.3 million redevelopment of a 110-year-old historic mill in Ludlow has generated 75 new units of mixed-income senior housing that are already 100 percent leased.

The Residences at Mill 10 contains 63 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments for residents ages 55 and older. The complex includes 51 units restricted to households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) and 15 set aside for households at or below 30 percent AMI.

Boston-based WinnDevelopment led the project at the 108,163-square-foot building, which is listed on the National Historic Register.

“People began asking to be put on the waiting list for apartments in Mill 10 almost as soon as we began construction, so there is no doubt that the desire for quality housing for seniors in this region is strong,” Larry Curtis, president and managing partner of WinnDevelopment, said in a statement.

The 170-acre former mill complex, formerly the home of the Ludlow Manufacturing and Sales Co., includes more than 60 buildings once used to manufacture rope and twine.

Financing for the project included state and and federal low-income housing tax credits; funding from the housing stabilization fund and HOME fund of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Community Development; state and federal historic tax credits; tax credit equity from Bank of America; a loan from the Boston Community Loan Fund; money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund managed by MassHousing; a loan from the town of Ludlow; Facilities Consolidation Fund proceeds from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation; a first mortgage from Massachusetts Housing Partnership; project-based subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD); and owner equity in the form of a deferred developer fee.

BofA provided construction financing. Quincy-based Dellbrook Construction served as general contractor and The Architectural Team of Chelsea was the architect.

WinnDevelopment also has secured the rights to develop housing at Mill 8, known as the Clock Tower building.

The property is owned by nonprofit Westmass Area Development Corp.

Ludlow Mill Redeveloped As 75-Unit Mixed-Income Complex

SourceBanker & Tradesman