Tag: community development

Four Corners toasts new apartments on Washington Street

Officials and Four Corners residents celebrated the new Upper Washington buildings, which includes 35 income-restricted apartments and two commercial spaces on Washington Street, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.

The Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (VietAID) helmed the $15.3 million project. Its management team was joined at the ceremony by Mayor Martin Walsh, Trinity Management, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and other local and state officials.

Since its inception, VietAID has created 88 affordable housing units in four Fields Corner projects, and “we’ve had a successful track record in transforming and improving neighborhoods,” said Kim Thai, president of the organization’s board of directors. “The time, effort and struggles from conception to construction,” he added, “are all well worth the joy and happiness that we witness when new tenants move in.”

Dione Teixeira, 26, drove by the Upper Washington apartments every day while they were under construction, going to and from a small basement she shared with her husband. “I used to say, ‘God, this is my home. It’s not ready yet, but this is my home,’” she said.

She choked back tears on Tuesday next to her new home on Washington Street, where they live with their one-year-old son. “Every day I used to say, ‘God, how am I going to raise my son in this little room?’ And I had my husband also,” she said. “And we used to live there but we never gave up.”

Teixeira and her mother came to Boston from Cape Verde 11 years ago. Her mother dreamed of a new house and Teixeira hoped to build a life for herself. After applications and waiting out the housing lottery, she got the call she had been waiting for – she made it, and so did her mother.

“I don’t know how to explain how happy I am,” she said, welling up. “I don’t know how to say how happy it is to see my mom smile, with her own home. Now she calls it home, and I call it home, too.”

Four Corners Main Streets and the new Four Corners Yoga & Wellness will be the commercial tenants in the complex. The artist Iris DuPont presented artwork inspired by the elements to hang inside the community space.

The project — income restricted for those making under 60 percent area median income — includes 5 one-bedroom, 21 two-bedroom, and 9 three-bedroom units.

“Mixed-use development is an important strategy for establishing and maintaining vitality in today’s neighborhoods,” Thai said, noting that VietAID has had “great success” with 1392 and 1460 Dorchester Ave. and that the organization hopes to replicate that experience with the Upper Washington apartments.

Nine of the units are set aside for formerly homeless families. “That’s something that’s really important for us as a city,” the mayor said. “We’ve housed over 1,100 chronically homeless people in the city of Boston over the last three years. We’ve been able to do it because of projects like this, because projects set aside some apartments and then wrap-around services.”

Upper Washington’s Four Corners location benefits from a nearby health center and a supermarket next door, Walsh noted, along with other resources.

“For three decades, a lot of the lots that we see on Washington Street have been sitting vacant,” he said. “Now we see a lot of mixed-use development happening and bringing these lots to life.”

Upper Washington was funded by the City of Boston and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and by tax credit equity provided by RBC Capital Markets. The project architect was Utile and the general contractor was Nauset Construction.

Susan Terry, assistant undersecretary at DHCD, said Gov. Charlie Baker’s $1.287 billion affordable housing bond bill will bolster just this type of project if approved by the legislature.

“We believe we’re most effective when we’re partnering with communities and supporting development that’s bubbling up on the local level,” she said. “This project is a prime example of that kind of community-driven development. And as someone who’s originally from Dorchester, I’m not surprised that the Dorchester community was able to come together and create a project like this that brings work, that brings housing, and that creates a strong community. A place that can keep the tradition of Dorchester alive.”

http://www.dotnews.com/2017/four-corners-toasts-new-apartments-washington-street

SourceDorchester Reporter

$1.1M announced for Head Start in Webster

Federal, state and local officials converged on a vacant School Street building Thursday to celebrate its future as an early childhood education facility, and the infusion of more than $1 million toward the effort.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced $600,000 in state funding for the project, while U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, revealed a $500,000 commitment from the federal Administration for Children and Families.

The Worcester Community Action Council aims to repurpose the former senior center at 116 School St. into a Head Start facility, for an estimated $1.7 million.

Ever since the roof of a Head Start program in Oxford collapsed under extreme winter conditions in 2015, dozens of Webster children have had to use a Head Start program in Southbridge.

Head Start is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition and parent involvement services to low-income children and families.

In early 2015, the WCAC shut down its Head Start program in Oxford when the roof was deemed dangerous because of exceptional winter weather. WCAC officials said busing children from surrounding towns to Southbridge is a considerable expense to the organization, and an inconvenience to families.

WCAC negotiated a 25-year lease, with a five-year extension, with Webster. But the two-story brick building will need to be rehabbed.

In addition to Webster, Ms. Polito said she was highlighting $4.1 million in capital grants for the modernization of spaces for early education programs in Boston, Belchertown, North Adams and New Bedford.

The state funding is from the early education and out-of-school time capital fund, which has provided up to $45 million in general obligation bond funding during five years, for grants to group and school-age child care facilities that are licensed by the state Department of Early Education and Care. The money is to renovate, improve or acquire and construct new program facilities for nonprofit corporations and organizations that serve low-income families.

The lieutenant governor said early educators are as important as the buildings that house the programs.

She said that under the leadership of state education secretary James Peyser, who was also in attendance, she and Gov. Charles D. Baker were pleased to provide a 6 percent rate increase to early educators across the state, the largest rate hike for subsidized early education programs in 10 years, Ms. Polito said.

“We need talented, caring people to choose the line of work as early educators to be on the team to make a difference for the children,” she said, noting that subsidized programs support approximately 56,000 children daily in Massachusetts.

Mr. McGovern thanked the WCAC for serving the most vulnerable people in a large chunk of his congressional district.

Mr. McGovern noted that the federal funding hadn’t been confirmed until 1 p.m. Thursday. He said he made yet another plea earlier in the day, and joked that he would have been embarrassed to show up in Webster empty-handed.

“I couldn’t be happier because I believe in all that is going to occur in this building,” he said.

State Sen. Ryan C. Fattman, R-Webster, who often reads to children in Head Start in Southbridge, said that transforming the facility from a senior center to a Head Start facility symbolized a changing of the guard and shifting of generations. Mr. Fattman nodded to the children of the program positioned to his right and said that if America doesn’t invest in their future, their future will be in question.

WCAC Executive Director Jill Dagilis thanked state Rep. Joseph McKenna, R-Webster, for his dedication to Webster families and the WCAC program. She said he opened many doors and kept the priority for funding the project on everyone’s radar. As a result, the WCAC gave Mr. McKenna its community action award earlier this year.

Mr. McKenna called the effort “one of those rare projects where everyone comes together and pulls in the same direction.”

The project calls for construction of four classrooms, a reception area and office spaces, installation of a new sprinkler system, elevator, flooring and lighting. Improvements will be made to the kitchen, restrooms and electrical system, alongside accessibility upgrades and the installation of a playground.

The building will serve 71 low-income children and 15 staff members.

It was originally designed as a private school built in the 1950s, with a renovation in 1979 to serve as the senior center, which has since moved.

The new Head Start’s anticipated opening is fall 2018.

Currently, 31 Webster children are enrolled in the half-day program, and the 10 children enrolled in the full-time program from Webster are bused daily to WCAC’s site in Southbridge.

There are an additional 30 children from Webster on the agency’s waiting list for Head Start.

The winter snowfall of 2015 was a FEMA-designated disaster. The roof collapse displaced 87 children and 15 staff in Oxford.

A Webster mother, Delilah Charest, whose children are 7 and 4, said she continued to take her children to Head Start in Southbridge when the Oxford facility closed because “it’s done a lot for my family,” she said.

Ms. Charest credited WCAC for allowing her to get training and get back to full-time work while her children were in the program. She said it also helped her son with a speech problem.

Ms. Charest said she is happy that the program will be closer to home.

Another Webster mother, Nicole Swift, said she has a 4-year-old child with ADHD in the Southbridge Head Start. She said she believes in the program because of its understanding teachers who are helpful with her daughter’s behavioral problems.

Ms. Dagilis, the executive director, also thanked Webster Selectman Randall V. Becker and his wife, Donna, for kicking off the private fundraising campaign by pledging $200,000, the largest individual donation in the agency’s history.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20170831/11m-announced-for-head-start-in-webster

SourceWorcester Telegram

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $72 Million to Create, Rehabilitate and Preserve Nearly 2,000 Housing Units

BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker announced $72 million in housing subsidy funds and additional state and federal tax credits to 25 projects in 17 communities for the creation, rehabilitation, and preservation of 1,970 housing units across the Commonwealth, including 402 units reserved for very low-income families and families making the transition out of homelessness, building on the Baker-Polito Administration’s commitment to increasing the production and preservation of affordable housing for all residents.

“Safe and affordable housing is a cornerstone to the success of our Commonwealth’s families, including access to job opportunities for many of our most vulnerable populations,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Through our combined efforts and investments to date, over 5,200 affordable housing units are being created, preserved or rehabilitated to support the growth of Massachusetts, our workforce, communities and families.”

The administration is awarding over $72 million in housing subsidy funds, including federal HOME funds and state capital funds. Additionally, the Department of Housing and Community Development is awarding more than $28 million in state and federal low-income housing tax credits, which will generate more than $180 million in equity for these projects. The awards will create or preserve 1,978 rental units, including 1,698 affordable units, in 25 projects across the state. Three projects will reserve units for individuals with disabilities, two are transit-oriented developments and three projects will include Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) units, including a building dedicated to youth aging out of foster care.

“Massachusetts is strongest when all of our families and residents have access to opportunities to thrive,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito.“Today’s awards will support affordable housing options for families in communities across the Commonwealth’s, regardless of income or zip code, including projects with housing for low-income or formerly homeless families, individuals with disabilities, veterans and the elderly.”

Governor Baker joined Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash, Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Chrystal Kornegay and MassHousing Executive Director Tim Sullivan to make the funding announcement at Olmsted Green in Mattapan. Olmsted Green is a 38-acre, existing mixed-income housing community on the former site of the Boston State Hospital.

“Today was a big day for housing here in Boston and across the Commonwealth. Not only did we break ground on mixed-income housing units today, we were given the support to continue our work in creating affordable homes for those in this thriving city and create more construction jobs in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Walsh. “I want to thank the Governor for making these funds available and for supporting important projects like Olmsted Green in Boston.”

Lena New Boston’s efforts are one piece of the larger redevelopment of the former Boston State Hospital into a mix of housing, community and green space. The site includes the Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, which sits on 67 acres. While the site sat vacant after the hospital’s closure in 1979, the past decade has seen the complete transformation of the space, bringing significant affordable and mixed-income housing to the Mattapan neighborhood, with rental and home-ownership opportunities for residents.

The Lena Park Community Development Corporation and New Boston Fund, together known as Lena New Boston LLC, are currently completing a 41-unit affordable, home-ownership development, with previous support from MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative, a joint initiative with DHCD. Lena New Boston will also build an additional 100 units of mixed-income rental housing in the next phase of the development with support from today’s awards.

“Today’s announcement of significant investments in affordable housing represents a key part of the administration’s inclusive strategy to support families and residents, and meet the needs of every community in Massachusetts,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. “Creating and preserving housing for families across the income spectrum will allow us to build and retain a skilled workforce across the state, and give our residents access to more opportunities.”

“Our administration is committed to supporting projects that support our most vulnerable communities, from very low-income families, to seniors, veterans and individuals with disabilities,” said Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Chrystal Kornegay. “Affordable housing is a strong tool for community development, and our investments using the Low Income Housing Tax Credit reflect those priorities.”

The 2017 affordable rental housing award round reflects the Baker-Polito Administration’s ongoing commitment to substantially invest in housing across the Commonwealth. In April, Governor Baker filed a housing bond bill seeking $1.287 billion in additional capital authorization to advance the administration’s commitment to affordable housing. In May 2016, the administration unveiled a five-year capital budget plan that includes a $1.1 billion commitment to increasing housing production, an 18% funding increase over previous funding levels. The $1.1 billion capital commitment provides for significant expansions in state support for mixed-income housing production, public housing modernization, and affordable housing preservation.

Since 2015 the Baker-Polito Administration has provided direct funding to create and preserve over 5,200 units of affordable housing across Massachusetts.

In addition, the administration and MassHousing have previously committed $100 million to support the construction of 1,000 new workforce housing units. To date, the Workforce Housing Initiative has advanced the development of 1,317 housing units across a range of incomes, including 387 workforce housing units.

2017 Awardees

Mechanic Mill is a mixed-income historic rehabilitation project located in Attleboro. The project sponsor is WinnDevelopment. When completed, Mechanic Mill will offer 91 total units, with 56 affordable, including 10 units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of area median income (AMI). All 91 units will be reserved for persons who are at least 55 years old.

Burbank Gardens is a preservation project of an existing 52-unit development located in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. Fenway Community Development Corporation, with assistance from DHCD, MassHousing, and the City of Boston, will rehabilitate and preserve the existing property and restrict 39 of the 52 units for rental to low and moderate-income tenants.

Cote Village is a 76-unit new construction project in Dorchester sponsored by Caribbean Integration Community Development and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs of the Archdiocese of Boston. The City of Boston also will provide substantial support to the project. When completed, Cote Village will include 56 affordable units, including eight units reserved for formerly homeless individuals or families, and several units reserved for persons with disabilities.

General Heath Square Apartments is a 47-unit new construction project in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The sponsor is the non-profit Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation. The city of Boston also will provide substantial support to the project. When completed, this transit-oriented project will include 40 affordable units, including 20 units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Olmsted Green Mixed-Income is a 100‑unit mixed-income new construction project in Boston to be built on the site of the former Boston State Hospital. Previously, the state and the City of Boston have helped finance over 500 units on the former hospital site. Sponsored by the New Boston Fund, the completed project will offer 40 affordable rental units, including 16 units for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI and several units for persons with disabilities. Sixty units within the project will be made available as workforce and market-rate rental units. The City of Boston also will provide funding for this project.

Talbot Commons Phase 1 is a new construction/rehabilitation project located in Boston’s Codman Square neighborhood. The sponsor is the non-profit Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation. The City of Boston also will provide significant support to Talbot Commons. The completed project will offer 40 affordable family units, including nine units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

The Clarion is a new construction mixed-income family housing project to be built on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston. The sponsor is the non-profit The Community Builders (TCB).  The City of Boston also will provide significant support to The Clarion. The site is located near major transit and retail opportunities and will offer 39 total units. Twenty seven units will be affordable, including seven units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.  Several affordable units also will be reserved for persons with disabilities.

Washington Westminster House in Boston is a new construction project sponsored by the non-profit Elizabeth Stone House. The 32-unit project will provide affordable housing as well as support services for at-risk and homeless families. All 32 units will be reserved for households with incomes below 30 percent of AMI. The City of Boston also will provide funds to Washington Westminster House.

Wilshire Westminster in Boston is a scattered-site preservation project sponsored by the non-profit Urban Edge to rehabilitate existing properties consisting of 99 total units for families. Eighty-nine of the rehabilitated units will be affordable, including 10 units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

JAS Consolidation is a scattered-site preservation and production project located in Cambridge and sponsored by the non-profit Just-A-Start Inc. The 112-unit consolidation project includes multiple properties located between Kendall Square and East Cambridge. Several of the properties, including St. Patrick’s Church, were destroyed in a massive fire in December 2016. The fire-impacted properties will be demolished and replaced with new, affordable housing, including 12 units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent AMI. Other properties included in the consolidation will be rehabilitated with support from DHCD and from the City of Cambridge.

MacArthur Terrace in Chicopee is a preservation project, an existing large-scale family development sponsored by Dimeo Properties. The City of Chicopee also will provide support to the project.  When completed, MacArthur Terrace will offer 222 total units, with 182 affordable units, including 44 units for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Brownstone Gardens in Easthampton is a preservation project sponsored by Carr Property Management. Originally financed through MassHousing’s Chapter 13A program, the property will be rehabilitated with subsidy funds from DHCD and assistance from MassHousing.  When completed, Brownstone Gardens will offer 132 total units, with 107 affordable units, including 33 units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Bostwick Gardens in Great Barrington is a new construction/rehabilitation project for seniors sponsored by Berkshire Housing Development Corporation.  The completed project will offer 31 new affordable units for seniors as well as 29 rehabilitated units in an existing building. Eighteen of the total units will be reserved for individuals or couples earning less than 30 percent of AMI.  The non-profit Berkshire Housing Development Corporation will make certain services for seniors available on-site and also will help senior residents access off-site services.

98 Essex in Haverhill is a new construction family housing project sponsored by Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, Inc. The City of Haverhill also will provide funds to 98 Essex.  When completed, the project will feature 62 total units, all of which are affordable, with seven units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

The Gerson Building in Haverhill is a new construction project sponsored by the non-profit Coalition for a Better Acre.  The City of Haverhill also will provide funds to the Gerson Building. The completed project will offer 44 units for families as well as a preference for households that include veterans.  All 44 units will be affordable, with eight units reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Holyoke Farms Apartments is a large-scale family preservation project located in Holyoke. The sponsor is Maloney Properties, Inc. The City of Holyoke also will provide funds in support of the rehabilitation.  When completed, Holyoke Farms will offer 229 family housing units, with 191 affordable units, including eight units reserved for households earning below 30 percent of AMI and 12 new construction units.

Carter School in Leominster is a historic rehabilitation project sponsored by the non-profit NewVue Communities. The sponsor will rehabilitate a vacant and fire-damaged school building into 39 family housing units. All units will be affordable, including 16 units affordable to households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.  The City of Leominster also will provide funds to the project.

Willis Street Apartments in New Bedford is a new construction project sponsored by the non-profit Women’s Development Corporation. The project will consist of 30 affordable single-room occupancy (SRO) units, and the sponsor will offer a veteran’s preference for each unit.  All units will be affordable, including 23 units reserved for individuals earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Transitional and Supportive Housing is a scattered-site project located in North Adams and Adams and sponsored by the non-profit Louison House. The sponsor currently operates the only comprehensive shelter program for homeless families in northern Berkshire County. The Transitional and Supportive Housing project will consist of the rehabilitation of 22 family shelter units destroyed by fire as well as the construction of five new permanent housing units for homeless families. All units will be affordable to households earning less than 30 percent of AMI, and the sponsor will provide extensive services to resident families.

King Pine is a large-scale family preservation project located in Orange. The sponsor is The Schochet Companies. The sponsor will rehabilitate this project and extend restrictions on rental rates well into the future. The completed project will offer 234 affordable units, including 24 units affordable to households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Cape Cod Village is a new construction project in Orleans. The sponsor is the non-profit Cape Cod Village, Inc. When completed, the project will offer 15 affordable housing units and services to persons with disabilities, including autism. DHCD will support Cape Cod Village with subsidy funds, and seven communities on Cape Cod have committed Community Preservation Act or other local funds to the project.

Harbor and Lafayette Homes is a preservation project consisting of two properties, which are single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings, located in Salem. The project sponsor is the non-profit North Shore Community Development Coalition. The City of Salem also will provide funds to the project. When rehabilitation work has been completed, Harbor and Lafayette Homes will offer 27 SRO units. Twenty-six units will be affordable, including seven units reserved for individuals earning less than 30 percent of AMI.  The property located at Harbor Street will provide housing and services to youth aging out of foster care.

The Residences at Salisbury Square is a new construction and adaptive re-use project in Salisbury.  The sponsor is the non-profit YWCA of Greater Newburyport in partnership with L. D. Russo. When completed, the project will offer 42 total units, all of which will be affordable, with 16 units further restricted for rental to households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Chestnut Crossing is a 104-unit preservation project located in downtown Springfield.  Formerly owned by the YMCA of Springfield, the project now is owned by the non-profit Home City Housing. Home City Housing will rehabilitate the project as single-room occupancy (SRO) units with kitchenettes and baths. The City of Springfield also will provide funds in support of Chestnut Crossing. Seventy-nine of the completed SROs will be affordable, including 26 SROs affordable to individuals earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

Moseley Apartments in Westfield involves the historic rehabilitation of a vacant school building into affordable housing for families. The sponsor is the non-profit Domus; Moseley Apartments will be the sponsor’s second school re-use project in Westfield. When completed, Moseley Apartments will offer 23 affordable units, including six units affordable to households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

http://www.mass.gov/governor/press-office/press-releases/fy2018/awards-to-create-rehab-and-preserve-2000-housing-units.html#

 

SourceGovernor Charlie Baker Press Office

MassDev Bonds Finance Roxbury Affordable Housing Facility

MassDevelopment has issued $9.4 million in bonds for Walker Park, a project from the Urban Edge Housing Corp., a community development organization in Roxbury.

Urban Edge will use bond proceeds to build Walker Park, a 49-unit affordable rental housing facility in the Egleston Square section of Roxbury. Urban Edge will demolish a blighted building and revitalize two blighted lots to make way for the construction of two buildings that will house the rental units. Eight of the units will be available to households earning 30 percent of the area median income and to homeless individuals and families, and the remaining 41 units will be available to households earning no more than 60 percent area median income. MassDevelopment also assisted the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development with the approval of federal low income housing tax credits that will provide $5.8 million in equity for the project. Bank of America purchased the bonds.

“Building sustainable housing options for Massachusetts residents is a central tenet of MassDevelopment’s mission,” MassDevelopment Executive Vice President of Finance Programs Laura Canter said in a statement. “We are proud to lend our support to the Walker Park project, which will revitalize a formerly underused parcel of land and provide affordable housing options for this vibrant, diverse Boston neighborhood.”

Urban Edge Housing Corp. is a national leader in the community development field. With its heart in Boston’s culturally and economically diverse Egleston and Jackson squares, Urban Edge works with others across the city of Boston and region to promote high-quality, sustainable and affordable communities.

“We are grateful for the support from MassDevelopment for the Walker Park project,” Urban Edge CEO Frank Shea said in a statement. “The development will provide families living in Egleston Square access to 49 new units of quality affordable housing and services while also revitalizing the neighborhood by renovating blighted properties. We thank MassDevelopment for its support and we look forward to the completion of the project.”

http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/2017/08/massdev-bonds-finance-roxbury-affordable-housing-facility/?utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=54848473&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9OK6K-xlTOEnRAo2SC_o6enctg68qswlzHuDZPROkJXeQNYSu-1QdOpAVOTyATjxZ8zg28tGdy0WXHw4ozwYVKMtvHpg&_hsmi=54848473

SourceBanker & Tradesman

Baker-Polito Administration Announces Nearly $1.5 Million In Brownfields Funding For Nine Projects

Today, Baker-Polito Administration announced nearly $1.5 million in Brownfields Redevelopment Fund awards to support the environmental assessment and cleanup of contaminated and challenging sites across the Commonwealth.

BROCKTON, MA – July 26, 2017 – Today, Baker-Polito Administration announced nearly $1.5 million in Brownfields Redevelopment Fund awards to support the environmental assessment and cleanup of contaminated and challenging sites across the Commonwealth.

“The Brownfields Redevelopment Fund is a critical tool that unlocks the potential of many former industrial sites throughout Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker, “transforming them into places where our communities and families can build homes and businesses.”

In Brockton, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito joined Mayor Bill Carpenter to announce the awards at a site in the city’s downtown Transformative Development Initiative District. NeighborWorks of Southern Massachusetts is receiving an award to conduct environmental assessments at this site in order to redevelop it into 48 units of affordable and market-rate housing and ground floor retail.

“These awards will revitalize downtowns, eliminate blight, and unlock private investment and job growth across the Commonwealth,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We are pleased to provide these resources to advance the economic development goals of communities throughout Massachusetts.”

“Giving cities and towns the ability to create shovel-ready sites is a no brainer in terms of economic development,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. “These unused sites are often some of the largest in the Commonwealth and now can be transformed into housing, commercial or industrial spaces that create jobs and enliven communities.”

The Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, established in 1998, is administered by MassDevelopment of behalf of the Commonwealth. The Fund helps to transform vacant, abandoned, or underused industrial or commercial properties. In most cases, redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination and liability. In FY17, the Commonwealth authorized $45 million in capital funding for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund.

“Since 1998, MassDevelopment has been pleased to administer the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, which has led to the creation of more than 4,400 jobs and 2,750 units of housing,” said MassDevelopment Executive Vice President of Finance Programs Laura Canter. “We are grateful to the Baker-Polito Administration and the Legislature for its support of this fund, and to Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns for partnering with us on our brownfields projects.”

“Thank you to the Baker-Polito administration for helping us provide the funds to conduct the necessary steps to better plan and redevelop our downtown and provide the necessary handicap accessible housing our community needs,” said Senator Michael D. Brady. “The Old Kresge building was a landmark in downtown Brockton and it would be great to see that area built back up to help revitalize the city.”

“The funding from the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund will help transform the area in Brockton’s TDI district into a 48 unit affordable and market-rate housing development ,” said Representative Claire Cronin. “We look forward to seeing the benefits that this revitalization will have in our community. Thank you to MassDevelopment and NeighborWorks for their continued investment in our city.”

“These funds are vital to continuing our efforts at revitalizing downtown Brockton, by ensuring healthy and environmentally safe construction,” said Representative Gerry Cassidy. “NeighborWorks is a great asset to our community and I have no doubt they will continue their hard work. Thank you to MassDevelopment and the Baker-Polito administration for investing in Brockton.”

“As a State Representative for Brockton and East Bridgewater, I am grateful for the investment by the Brownfields Fund and the administration to start the clean-up of these sites and get them back onto the tax-rolls,” said Representative Michelle DuBois.

The following municipalities and organizations received Brownfield Redevelopment Fund awards in FY17:

Brockton’s NeighborWorks of Southern Massachusetts, $26,000

NeighborWorks of Southern Massachusetts will use the award to conduct environmental assessment at this highly visible, vacant site in Brockton’s TDI District. NeighborWorks of Southern Massachusetts plans to redevelop this site into 48 units of affordable and market-rate housing with ground floor retail.

Lawrence CommunityWorks Duck Mill project, $334,365

Lawrence CommunityWorks will use this award to perform environmental clean up at the Duck Mill site to transform the former mill building into 10,000-square-feet of retail and 73 units of affordable rental housing.

Lawrence CommunityWorks Union & Milford Street projects, $160,509

Lawrence CommunityWorks will use the award to perform remediation required to build five units of single-family, owner-occupied affordable housing on five vacant lots in Lawrence.

Gardner’s Newvue Affordable Housing Corporation, $18,000

Newvue Housing Corporation will use the award to conduct soil and air testing at a two-story downtown block building in Gardner. Once the property is safe for occupancy, NewVue, a community development corporation, will open a career and homeownership center on the ground floor and create three units of affordable housing on the upper floors.

City of Gardner Theatre Project, $490,475

The City will use this award to demolish and perform hazardous abatement of the former Orpheum Theatre in downtown Gardner, which the City will transform into a public park and parking lot useable to downtown businesses and residents.

Town of East Bridgewater, $99,400

The Town will use this award to perform assessment and find a permanent solution for the Eastern States Steel site, a contaminated, blighted, and highly visible site.

Town of East Bridgewater, $99,700

The Town will use this award to perform environmental assessment at the Precise Engineering site, which it ultimately plans to redevelop into a commercial or light industrial use.

Town of Seekonk, $99,800

The Town will use this award to assess the former Attleboro Dyeing and Finishing site, which it is seeking to redevelop into mixed-income housing and retail that will provide access to the Ten Mile River on which the property sits.

Worcester East Side CDC, $125,000

Worcester East Side CDC will use this award for assessment of a site that will become eight units of garden-style, handicap-accessible housing for extremely low-income or potential homeless residents while they continue to receive supportive services from the Department of Mental Health.

About MassDevelopment:

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2016, MassDevelopment financed or managed 352 projects generating investment of more than $4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 8,200 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 4,200 residential units.

http://www.mass.gov/hed/press-releases/administration-announces-1-5m-in-brownfields-funding.html

SourceExecutive Office of Housing and Economic Development

Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Kornegay and Congressman Keating Celebrate Ground Breaking at Canal Bluffs

Today, the Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary, Chrystal Kornegay, joined Congressman Bill Keating, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), the Housing Assistance Corporation of Cape Cod (HAC) and MassHousing to celebrate the groundbreaking of Canal Bluffs Phase III. When completed, the Canal Bluffs development will feature 117 mixed-income housing units, with both rental and homeownership opportunities.

“Workforce and affordable housing provides Massachusetts residents and families across all incomes and zip codes access to stability and opportunity,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Through our workforce housing and preservation initiatives, we are pleased to support Canal Bluffs and developments like it throughout the Commonwealth, to provide affordable rental and homeownership opportunities to families in Bourne, the region and across the state.”

“Dedicated partners like POAH, HAC and the Bourne community worked closely with our administration to bring this project closer to housing the families and residents who need it most,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We are committed to engaging local and non-profit partners across all our communities to support more projects and opportunities for affordable housing production in the Commonwealth.”

The third phase of the development includes 44-units of rental housing, with 35 affordable units and nine workforce housing units. In 2016, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded the project Low Income Housing Tax Credits that will raise over $7.5 million in equity, and supported the project with over $850,000 in direct subsidies from the Department of Housing and Community Development. Barnstable County also allocated $250,000 HOME funds towards the project. The state’s quasi-public financing agency, MassHousing, is supporting the development of Canal Bluffs through a $3.4 million permanent loan, $700,000 from the Opportunity Fund, and $1 million in subordinate debt from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

“Like many of our seasonal communities, Bourne faces the acute challenge of providing affordable housing to their year-round population,” said Undersecretary Kornegay. “The completion of Canal Bluffs will add 44 units of mixed-income rental housing, increasing Bourne’s housing options for the diverse needs of their community.”

The Canal Bluffs project advances the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal of creating up to 1,000 new workforce housing units affordable to middle-income families and households, through MassHousing’s $100 million Workforce Housing Initiative. Nine of the 44 units at Canal Bluffs III will be workforce housing units, affordable to households earning 70 percent of area median income.

“MassHousing’s Opportunity Fund helps create more economically diverse communities, by delivering types of affordable housing at that wouldn’t be possible otherwise,” said MassHousing Executive Director Tim Sullivan. “Our Workforce Housing Initiative is the first state-level program in the country to specifically address affordability for moderate-income households who don’t qualify for traditional affordable housing, but who still struggle to meet housing costs. Through projects like Canal Bluffs, we are state and local stakeholders to deliver new homes that are affordable to a broad range of working families, and advancing housing affordability across Massachusetts.”

“Canal Bluffs III serves as a prime example of local, state, and federal governments working together to relieve the high housing costs we are seeing throughout Cape Cod,” said Congressman Keating. “This project will help to ease some of the burden on families struggling to find affordable housing in our area – a responsibility we all share. I commend Preservation of Affordable Housing and HAC for the time and dedication they have dedicated to these projects in order to ensure their success.”

“Quality affordable housing that respects the unique character of Cape Cod is vital to our regional economy,” said State Senator Vinny deMacedo (R-Plymouth). “I am grateful to the Baker-Polito Administration for supporting the Canal Bluffs project as well as for their continued collaboration with HAC to support our economy and our workers by investing in housing on Cape Cod.”

“It’s no secret that Cape Cod is short on affordable housing, and I’m heartened that projects like Canal Bluffs are moving forward to fill that need,” said State Representative Randy Hunt. “Currently, Canal Bluffs offers 73 affordable residences; with the completion of phase three, that number will be bumped up to 117. Every home that’s built or made available for those who live and work here—and want to continue to—counts. Forty-four new units means 44 new home bases for the community members and families who will help build Cape Cod’s future. Thank you to our local and nonprofit partners at HAC and POAH, and the Baker-Polito Administration for their leadership and support; especially Undersecretary Kornegay and her team at DHCD.”

“We could not have made this vision a reality without the strong working relationship with HAC and the support of the Town of Bourne and the Barnstable County partners and agencies that worked with us to make this such a success,” said POAH President and CEO Aaron Gornstein.

“These types of partnerships between HAC and POAH are critical to addressing the region’s housing issues,” said HAC CEO Alisa Galazzi. “By combining our strengths and expertise, our two agencies are able to make projects like Canal Bluffs a reality which is vitally important because there is such a shortage of affordable apartments on Cape Cod for year-round residents.”

In April, Governor Baker filed a housing bond bill seeking $1.287 billion in additional capital authorization to advance the administration’s commitment to affordable housing. Last May, the administration unveiled a five-year capital budget plan that includes a $1.1 billion commitment to increasing housing production, an 18 percent funding increase over previous funding levels. The $1.1 billion capital commitment provides for significant expansions in state support for mixed-income housing production, public housing modernization, and affordable housing preservation. The housing bond bill filed today provides the authorization to fully fund this capital expansion.

Under the MassHousing Workforce Housing Initiative, the agency has committed or closed workforce housing financing totaling $33.5 million, to 14 projects, located in 10 cities and towns. To date, the Workforce Housing Initiative has advanced the development of 1,285 housing units across a range of incomes, including 363 workforce housing units.

Since 2015 the Baker-Polito Administration has provided direct funding to create and preserve over 3,500 units of affordable housing across Massachusetts.

http://www.mass.gov/hed/press-releases/kornegay-keating-break-ground-at-canal-bluffs.html

SourceExecutive Office of Housing and Economic Development

Lowell’s House of Hope opens new Shelter (Video)

The House of Hope celebrated a milestone expansion on Tuesday that has nearly doubled the number of homeless families it can serve.

The nonprofit organization has opened a new 31-family property at 520 Fletcher St., which formerly housed a home for elderly women. With the help of $2.8 million in state aid, House of Hope was able to purchase, renovate, and reopen the facility in just over a year, and the expansion will continue with another project underway on Smith Street.

House of Hope’s leaders chalked their success up to vibrant partnerships with the Department of Housing and Community Development and several community organizations.

“It’s the desire of everybody in this community to reach out to the poorest of the poor,” said Deb Chausse, executive director of the House of Hope. “The want a vehicle they can trust to do that and House of Hope can.”

Chrystal Kornegay, undersecretary of the DHCD, attended the ceremony, inside the building’s elegant dining room. She credited the program, and others of its kind, for the sharp reduction in the number of homeless families the state had housed temporarily in hotels.

In 2015, there were approximately 1,500 homeless families lodged in hotels and motels. That number has dropped to just a handful, Kornegay said.

“The 24-hour access to services and support you can do here, and not in a hotel,” she added. “The ability to help people as they encounter different obstacles and struggles as they’re on their path to greatness, you’re very limited to do that in a hotel or motel.

“In addition to shelter, the Fletcher Street facility also provides workforce development training and a room for early childhood education.

Mabel, a resident of the building who spoke at the opening ceremony, said turning to the House of Hope was the best decision she had ever made and that her job at the on-site culinary program was the first one she had enjoyed.

“Each member of the team has played an important role,” she said. “This place has changed my life for the better.”

State Sen. Eileen Donoghue and City Councilor Rita Mercier heaped praise on Chausse and other members of the House of Hope team for their accomplishments in the face of a homelessness problem that is too often viewed as intractable.

“You’re saving lives and I couldn’t be happier or prouder,” Mercier said.

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_31150153/lowells-house-hope-opens-new-shelter#ixzz4nOKrfC4O

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_31150153/lowells-house-hope-opens-new-shelter#ixzz4nOKnZv6i

SourceLowell Sun

On the right track: New home for Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership

This fall, the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership — a nonprofit and the state’s largest regional provider of rental-housing voucher assistance — will get a new home of its own: a vacant two-acre parcel formerly owned by the MBTA, across from the Roxbury Crossing Orange Line station.

Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services is building out a five-story building that will create 40 units of affordable housing an a 27,000-square-foot office for MBHP. The project is partially funded with $2.75 million from Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s $39 million commitment toward affordable housing projects, as well as an expected $2 million from a MBHP capital campaign.

Enlarge

A formerly vacant two-acre parcel owned by the MBTA at Roxbury Crossing will soon be the… more

Courtesy rendering

Chris Norris, MBHP’s executive director, said the organization wanted to be located along the Orange Line for easier access to the 25,000 families it serves annually. “To both be on a transit node closer to the majority of families we work with, as well as closer for our employees, many of whom live in or around the neighborhood, was a key part of our decision to relocate,” Norris said.

The organization’s longtime home has been 125 Lincoln St., on the edge of downtown Boston’s Leather District. But in the past 15 years, MBHP’s rent has doubled, Norris said.

“We wanted to be able to take control of or own destiny, fiscally, and lock into a mortgage and have the opportunity to build equity in something that we owned,” he said.

The housing partnership expects to move in this fall.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for us to be, if you will, on the ground floor of what the city and state have prioritized as a key development corridor,” Norris said. “We’re very excited.”

Margulies Perruzzi Architects is the interior architect for MBHP’s office.

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2017/07/14/on-the-right-track-new-home-for-metropolitan.html?ana=e_bost_real&s=newsletter&ed=2017-07-14&u=rwmEzJfOBoac14kG99ibvLXYsMp&t=1500045845&j=78549271

SourceBoston Business Journal

Howland mansion coming back from the brink of destruction

The stately 10,000-square-foot red brick mansion at 38 S. Sixth St. in New Bedford is a shell of its former self.

On the outside, scaffolding flanks the Federal-Greek Revival and plywood remains on what were the home’s 64 windows.

The interior is a maze of wooden frameworks and staircases, giving few clues about what it will look like when it is completed in November.

Standing on the ground floor, construction superintendent Phil Pereira points to the charred beams of the John Howland Jr. house.

“They’re like this all the way up all the way into the roof,” he says.

The initial damage caused by a three-alarm January 2005 fire has been compounded over the years by exposure to the elements and neglect, and there is little left of the building’s interior but studs and flooring. F&S Enterprises Inc., a Rhode Island company, bought the home after the fire in 2005 and stripped it of its architectural details, including the mantelpieces.

In fact, so much had been stripped that the house was on the verge of collapse, says Patrick Sullivan, the city’s director of Planning, Housing and Community Development. The city, together with the Attorney General’s office, in 2008 started pressuring the owner to make repairs or sell.

“It was stripped, that’s true,” says Michael Galasso, of nonprofit developer The Resources Inc. (TRI). “When we got involved, everything was gone from the interior — no plumbing, no doors.”

F&S applied for demolition in April 2010, but the city’s Historical Commission voted 5-0 that December that the building was architecturally significant and preferably preserved.

The Waterfront Historic Area League bought the home in 2010 for $237,000. WHALE stabilized the property, including a new roof, putting back the original roofline seen in historic photos.

Over the years, TRI, WHALE and architect Christopher “Kit” Wise have worked on plans and have pieced together the $2.9 million it will take to restore life to the Howland house. D.F. Pray has been hired as general contractor.

ABOUT THE JOHN HOWLAND JR. HOUSE:

  • Built in 1834 for John and Sarah Howland Jr.
  • Exceptional example of transitional Federal/Greek Revival style architecture and the substantial wealth that was
    made in the whaling industry in New Bedford.
  • Contributing building in the County Street National Register Historic District.
  • One of a complex of three remarkable and extremely rare, brick mansions built for the Howland family
    on South Sixth Street.

ABOUT THE HOWLAND FAMILY:

  • The Howland family was among New Bedford’s most prominent and wealthy families. A native of New Bedford, John Howland Jr. partnered with his brother James in “J & J Howland Merchants” on Middle Street and he was one of 15 original trustees of the New Bedford Institution for Savings. The Howland family, unlike many of their Quaker counterparts, chose to build their grand mansions and fine homes along Sixth Street. The County Street Historic District Nomination states that, of the city’s wealthiest men, only members of two branches of the Howland family – George Howland Sr. and Jr. and John Howland Sr. and his sons John Jr. and James II – did not build on County Street. One of Howland’s relatives even “warned his children that building a house on County Street would expose them to ‘pernicious influence’.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20170708/howland-mansion-coming-back-from-brink-of-destruction

SourceSouth Coast Today

Massachusetts Sets Record In Affordable Housing Preservation

Massachusetts preserved more than 6,000 units of affordable rental housing in 2016, according to a statement released yesterday by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), the public-private, community development finance agency.

It is the largest number of units preserved for affordable housing using state resources in a single calendar year since CEDAC began collecting data. The previous record was nearly 4,400 units, set in 2015.

CEDAC concludes that 7,054 total units in 46 mixed-income project developments across the state were preserved using various types of state financing in 2016. From the total, 6,058 units were affordable and the remainder were market rate. In addition to the units maintained through state financing programs, long-term federal Section 8 contract renewals preserved 2,002 additional affordable apartments. The projects span the state and consist of large- and small-scale developments in urban, suburban and rural communities, including Barnstable, Boston, Brookline, Fall River, Framingham, New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester.

“I am thrilled that Massachusetts has set another record for affordable housing preservation,” Bill Brauner, CEDAC’s director of housing preservation and policy, said in a statement. “Preservation is a critical part of the affordable housing equation and the state has maintained its commitment to preserving these properties for families and individuals. The fact that more than 6,000 units were preserved demonstrates that the innovative tools the state put in place are effective.”

Massachusetts Sets Record In Affordable Housing Preservation

SourceBanker & Tradesman