Tag: 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

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

Housing Bond Bills Aim To Add $1.3B To State Programs

Massachusetts is a national leader in affordable housing by creating a system that provides reliable capital funds to affordable housing developers and because of leadership that consistently supports it. Current legislative proposals aim to recapitalize these programs through the introduction of new housing bond bills that seek over $1.3 billion in additional capital authorization for affordable housing.

The housing bond bill is critically important to ensuring that community development agencies and affordable housing developers have access to public financing options that make their projects feasible. In recognition of the importance of quality housing to the region’s economic competitiveness, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has bold housing production and preservation goals over the next several years. These goals were expressed in the Baker-Polito administration’s ambitious capital budget plan for fiscal years 2018–22, which increased housing funding by 18 percent over prior levels. The enactment of a new Housing Bond Bill in the current legislative session is essential for the state to meet these goals.

The bills are important because they include resources that promote the production and preservation of affordable housing in general, including an extension of the state’s housing tax credit program. I want to focus on one specific area of community development for which both legislative proposals include significant funding – supportive housing. The commonwealth’s ability to create supportive housing units that provide case management and other services to some of the state’s most vulnerable populations is a quiet but important success story. The commonwealth produced 1,750 supportive housing units through these programs over the past three years.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) manages three supportive housing loan programs on behalf of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The Housing Innovations Fund (HIF), the Facilities Consolidation Fund (FCF) and the Community Based Housing (CBH) programs provide resources to community-based developers. These loans not only offer developers much needed funds for their projects, they also help those organizations meet the housing needs of their most vulnerable community members.

Over the past 29 years, DHCD and CEDAC have through the HIF program allocated over $248 million to produce more than 13,500 units to assist homeless families and individuals, victims of domestic violence and their families, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, disabled veterans and single working adults. Through FCF funding, we have financed another 2,400 units with over $140 million to provide service-enriched housing to clients of the Departments of Mental Health and Developmental Services. And with the newest supportive housing bond program, CBH, CEDAC has allocated over $48 million to produce 342 fully accessible units for disabled persons. Ninety percent of these units serve extremely-low and very low-income residents of Massachusetts.

Continued Success

The success of the state’s investment in supportive housing programs is exemplified by the recent opening of the New Joelyn’s Home in Roxbury. Victory Programs, an experienced provider of housing and services, was forced to create a new residential facility serving those struggling with addiction after their original site on Long Island was abruptly shut down in 2014. As the city and state continue to deal with the opioid crisis and finding ways to treat individuals looking for a way out of addiction, facilities like New Joelyn’s Home become even more important. DHCD and CEDAC committed almost $1 million in HIF funds to Victory Programs, the state’s Department of Public Health provides over $750,000 in annual operating funds, and the nonprofit agency is now serving 24 women with supportive housing.

The bond bill also supports two other programs that CEDAC manages – the Home Modification Loan Program (HMLP), administered with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, which provides low- and no-interest loans to individuals and families with a disabled loved one to construct accessibility improvements that help them stay in their homes; and the Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund, managed in conjunction with the Department of Early Education and Care, which offers loans to community-based child care providers looking to upgrade or renovate their facilities. All of these programs help to strengthen Massachusetts’ cities and towns.

The commonwealth last passed a housing bond bill in 2013. In doing so, it strengthened community development agencies across Massachusetts and effectively created thousands of supportive housing units in cities and towns across the state. The challenges for homeless families or individuals living with addictions or disability have only grown since then. These bond programs work, for individuals and families, for the communities they live in and for the programs that help them. Let’s keep building on that success.

Roger Herzog is the executive director of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC).

http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/2017/06/housing-bond-bills-aim-add-1-3b-state-programs/

»

SourceBanker & Tradesman

Western Mass. Nonprofit Seeks To Build Homeless Female Vets Back Up

LouAnn Hazelwood was fleeing her second abusive marriage when she found one of the nation's few transitional programs for homeless female veterans. (Rebecca Sheir/American Homefront Project)

The federal government estimates that on any given night, 3,000 to 4,000 female veterans are homeless.

But that estimate is probably on the low side, according to Sara Scoco, who directs the Women’s Program of the western Massachusetts-based nonprofit group Soldier On.

“When people are doing homeless counts, they’re going to shelters, they’re seeing people on the street,” Scoco said. “A female veteran is not the person you see on the street holding a sign.”

Instead, she’s holing up in her car or couch surfing at friends’ houses. She might be a single mom, or she may have experienced sexual trauma.

“The issue of female veteran homelessness is so under-looked, understudied,” Scoco said. “It’s not understood because it’s not in your face all the time.”

So Soldier On decided to do its part by building a transitional housing facility just for women.

In a bright and airy three-story building on the Department of Veterans Affairs campus in Leeds, the Women’s Program houses 16 women. It caters to their special needs with things like art and yoga classes, support groups and job counseling.

“A lot of women that come to us have really lost everything,” Scoco said. “They’ve lost all sense of hope. And so all of what we do is build them back up.”

Scoco said all of the residents suffered some sort of trauma before, during or after they served.

LouAnn Hazelwood was fleeing her second abusive marriage when she found one of the nation's few transitional programs for homeless female veterans. (Rebecca Sheir/American Homefront Project)
LouAnn Hazelwood was fleeing her second abusive marriage when she found one of the nation’s few transitional programs for homeless female veterans. (Rebecca Sheir/American Homefront Project)

Sixty-one-year-old LouAnn Hazelwood, who was in the Army in the 1970s and ’80s, said her verbal, physical and sexual trauma started early in life.

“I more or less wanted to join the military as a way of escape,” Hazelwood said.

But she experienced more trauma in the military and after she got out. When she came to the Women’s Program, she was fleeing her second abusive marriage and was so traumatized she didn’t speak. Being only around women made her feel safer.

“For me, it was a way of recouping from all the abuse that I went through,” Hazelwood said. “I have yet to totally trust being around a man.”

Page, 33, is another resident of the program. The former Air Force technician asked that we not use her last name.

She struggled with depression and self-esteem issues long before she enlisted. She thought being in the military might help.

“I was thinking I was going to get some sort of approval and pat on the back,” she said. Instead, Page got verbally harassed — called “whore,” “fat” and “bitch” — and she fell into a culture of drinking.

“I remember going through Walmart after work one day; this is when I was drinking,” she recalled, “and I wanted to crawl under a rock and die because a lady stopped with her daughter and pointed to me and said, ‘See, honey? That’s a hero.’ “

Page confided in a therapist, but she said he threatened to have her thrown out of the military. In the end, she was allowed to resign with an honorable discharge.

After rotating through several coed detox programs for vets, she found the Women’s Program.

“I haven’t had a drink since,” she said.

By 2020, the number of female veterans is expected to reach 2.2 million. So Soldier On’s Scoco said there’s an intense need for more gender-specific services. But demand for women-only services vastly exceeds supply. For the 16 rooms in western Massachusetts, the Women’s Program often has a waiting list and has received referrals and applications from as far away as Hawaii.

“There are women who have served the hell out of our country, and they’re not being recognized, and they need to be,” Scoco said. “They need to be treated, not the same way as males, but they need to be treated. Period.”

This story comes via the New England News Collaborative and was first published by the American Homefront Project.

This segment aired on June 2, 2017.

http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/06/02/female-homeless-veterans-soldier-on

SourceWBUR

CEDAC Receives Funding From Kuehn Charitable Foundation for New Grant Program

For more information and to apply for a Kuehn Planning Grant, please visit our Application Forms & Guidelines page under Housing Programs.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) was recently awarded $180,000 of funding by the Kuehn Charitable Foundation to establish a new planning grant program to help the non-profit community development sector across Massachusetts. Named for the foundation’s creator Robert H. Kuehn, Jr., the Kuehn Planning Grants will help non-profit corporations in Massachusetts explore the feasibility at the earliest stages of project development. The Kuehn Charitable Foundation was created by the late Robert H. Kuehn, Jr. in the late 1990s and is dedicated to preserving communities around Massachusetts. By supporting affordable housing and historic and open space preservation, the Foundation carries on the legacy of its founder who spent his life developing affordable and historic housing. The primary activity of the foundation is the Kuehn Fellows Program, which provides hands-on experience to its fellows by placing them in positions with vetted nonprofit affordable housing organizations around the Commonwealth. “There are non-profit organizations across the Commonwealth who want to improve their communities by building new affordable housing or economic development space, but are unaware of both the challenges and the funding available to do so,” said Jennifer Gilbert, Director of Kuehn Charitable Foundation. “These grants will help those agencies determine what is feasible. We are partnering with CEDAC because their expertise in this area will allow these organizations to take the steps in turning their vision into a reality.” For more than 35 years, CEDAC has provided early stage capital to non-profit, community-based organizations engaged in effective community development. The Kuehn Planning Grants of up to $15,000 each will be awarded to organizations for costs associated with affordable housing or economic development projects. There will be a preference for projects undertaken by small, community-based organizations, as well as mixed-use and/or mixed-income projects incorporating historic preservation, projects serving low- and moderate-income artists, supportive housing for vulnerable families and individuals, and smaller scale projects. “Throughout our history, CEDAC has provided early-stage financing to community development corporations and other community-based non-profit organizations to help them develop affordable housing and child care facilities,” said CEDAC’s Executive Director Roger Herzog. “But we know that there many more organizations who want to improve their communities by producing or preserving affordable units or commercial space. The Kuehn Planning Grants will allow smaller non-profits to explore opportunities that they might feel are too financially risky otherwise. We’re looking forward to working with these organizations through these grants.” More information on the Kuehn Planning Grants can be found at CEDAC’s Website at www.cedac.org.

SourceCEDAC

CEDAC Gets $180K to Help the Community Development Sector

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, a Boston nonprofit that provides financial resources and technical expertise for community-based and other nonprofit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts, recently announced that it has been awarded $180,000 to establish a new planning grant program to help the state’s nonprofit community development sector.

The funding, from the Kuehn Charitable Foundation, will help nonprofit corporations in Massachusetts explore the feasibility at the earliest stages of project development.

Roger Herzog, executive director of Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation(CEDAC), said, “Throughout our history, CEDAC has provided early-stage financing to community development corporations and other community-based non-profit organizations to help them develop affordable housing and child care facilities.

“But we know that there many more organizations who want to improve their communities by producing or preserving affordable units or commercial space. The Kuehn Planning Grants will allow smaller non-profits to explore opportunities that they might feel are too financially risky otherwise. We’re looking forward to working with these organizations through these grants.”

The Kuehn Planning Grants of up to $15,000 each will be awarded to organizations for costs associated with affordable housing or economic development projects. Preference will be given for projects undertaken by small, community-based organizations, as well as mixed-use and/or mixed-income projects incorporating historic preservation, projects serving low- and moderate-income artists, supportive housing for vulnerable families and individuals, and smaller scale projects.

Jennifer Gilbert, director of the Kuehn Charitable Foundation, observed, “There are nonprofit organizations across the Commonwealth who want to improve their communities by building new affordable housing or economic development space, but are unaware of both the challenges and the funding available to do so.

“These grants will help those agencies determine what is feasible. We are partnering with CEDAC because their expertise in this area will allow these organizations to take the steps in turning their vision into a reality.”

For more than 35 years, CEDAC has provided early stage capital to nonprofit, community-based organizations engaged in effective community development, focusing on three key building blocks of community development: affordable housing, workforce development, and early care and education. CEDAC is also active in state and national housing preservation policy research and development and is widely recognized as a leader in the non-profit community development industry.

According to CEDAC, that more than 18,000 affordable apartments in Massachusetts will be at risk by the end of the decade, including over 5,000 maturing mortgage units at high risk.

For the year ending June 30, 2015, CEDAC posted $5.4 million in operating revenue and $4.8 million in expenses, according to its most recently available annual report.

http://www.massnonprofit.org/news.php?artid=4686&catid=12

SourceMassNonprofit News

Baker Administration Announces Affordable Housing Development Awards

Baker Administration Announces Affordable Housing Development Awards

Aug 16, 2016

 

The Baker Administration announced awards to fund the development, renovation and preservation of affordable rental housing across the commonwealth on Monday. The money will be used to create or preserve 1,420 housing units.

“These affordable housing awards reflect our administration’s commitment to a stronger, more prosperous and more inclusive commonwealth,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement. “By increasing affordable housing production, and stabilizing working families, low-income senior citizens and homeless families or those at risk, these housing awards will strengthen communities across Massachusetts.”

The announcement was made at48 Boylston St. in Boston, a historic rehabilitation project for formerly homeless residents sponsored by St. Francis House and the Archdiocese of Boston’s Planning Office for Urban Affairs.

The 26 projects awarded will create or preserve 1,420 rental units, including 1,334 affordable units, across 16 Massachusetts communities. The Department of Housing and Community Development is awarding over $31 million in state and federal low-income housing tax credits, which will generate over $218 million in equity for these projects. Additionally, the administration is awarding over $59 million in housing subsidy funds, including federal HOME funds and state capital funds, across the 26 projects.

Projects will serve a wide variety of constituents, including individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness, persons with disabilities and the elderly. Four projects are focused on senior housing, five will provide supportive services to residents and all 26 will include deeply affordable units. The Baker Administration prioritized applications that included a 10 percent allotment for individuals and families who are, or are at risk of becoming, homeless.

In 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 for mixed-income housing production, and affordable housing preservation. In May, the Administration and MassHousing committed $100 million, to support the construction of 1,000 new workforce housing units. Since 2015, the administration has provided funding to create and preserve 2,856 units of affordable housing, including 874 deeply affordable units for at-risk populations.

“St. Francis House is a perfect example of an organization committed to ending homelessness for individuals and families by providing safe and affordable housing and meeting the full needs of their tenants,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said in a statement. “These awards will help support vulnerable citizens in the commonwealth.”

The award will include 46 units of affordable housing at the former Boston Young Men’s Christian Union building at 48 Boylston St. The state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will support the project with federal and state low income housing tax credits that will leverage about $11.8 million in equity and $4 million in subsidies from DHCD.

St. Francis House and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs of the Archdiocese of Boston (POUA) purchased the building in April of this year, and the two entities plan to rehabilitate the historic, but presently vacant, building into affordable housing. The completed development will include units reserved for people who have experienced homelessness and others with very modest incomes. Twenty-six of the units will be reserved for individuals earning less than 30 percent of the area median income.

Copyright © 2016 The Warren Group | All Rights Reserved |

http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/2016/08/baker-administration-announces-affordable-housing-development-awards/?utm_campaign=Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=32993672&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–woMwC9tdw1LL0nM3nVUjpGZiEBsgWYlAEcRRKX6X3ayEg2HKd5ApDSeOlMqj2Htb1gcX8fC21aE0TX-lg-QSNdkdiZw&_hsmi=32993672

 

SourceBanker & Tradesman

Lynn School Gets A Reason to Aspire

LYNN SCHOOL GETS A REASON TO ASPIRE
A rendering of Aspire Developmental Services’ plan to convert the former O’Keefe School on Franklin Street into an early intervention center.

BY PAUL HALLORAN

LYNN — Aspire Developmental Services’ efforts to raise funds for a new headquarters got a major boost when the agency was awarded a $1 million state grant. Aspire, which provides Early Intervention services to children up to age 3, was one of six agencies to receive the Early Education and Care and Out of School Time grant from the state Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, in partnership with the Children’s Investment Fund. The state awarded competitive grants totaling $3.6 million to be used for major capital facilities projects. Aspire got the largest grant and was the only agency to receive the maximum of $1 million.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this funding,” said Lori Russell, acting executive director of Aspire. “This will play a major role in bringing our new building closer to reality. It was a very competitive process. We’re thrilled to be the only agency to receive $1 million.”

“We are very pleased that Aspire will be expanding their operation and capacity to provide critical services to children and families in Lynn and the surrounding area,” said Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy. Russell said while the grant is a big help, the capital campaign is ongoing, with the agency hoping to raise at least an additional $1 million for the $4.2 million project.

“This grant is very important, and we are extremely grateful, but we still have funds to raise in order to reach our goal,” said capital campaign committee member Debby Regan, co-owner ofMeninno Construction. “We plan to continue to make the case that this is a project worthy of the community’s support.” Aspire will renovate the former O’Keefe School building on Franklin Street. The new facility will provide 15,000 square feet of space — triple what it has now on Johnson Street. The additional space will allow Aspire to double the play group opportunities for children receiving Early Intervention Services. Aspire will also increase its capacity for child care from 20 to 49 toddlers and pre-school students.

The purpose of the grant is to improve the quality of early education settings.“The new building will allow us to serve more families in more modern and appropriate space,” Russell said. “We will also be able to provide parent-child groups and parent training workshops.”

“The Early Education and Care and Out of School Time grants are a critical resource for helping ensure that our early learning program environments support children’s learning,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito in announcing the grant recipients.

“By providing high quality facilities for children to grow and thrive in, we are both helping foster their success and building a more prosperous future for all of us.”

Aspire provided services to more than 1,850 children last year. Two-thirds of the families served were minority and 78 percent were below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for this fall.

6/25/2016
http://www.itemlive.com/news/lynn-school-gets-a-reason-to-aspire/
© Copyright 2016. All Rights Reserved.

SourceItem Live

Cambridge Housing Authority to Provide $153M in Affordable Housing Improvements

The Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) has provided $153 million in affordable housing improvements through its Public Housing Preservation Plan.

Under the plan, CHA will improve 837 affordable housing units at Washington Elms, Newtowne Court, Manning Apartments, Putnam Gardens and Woodrow Wilson Court.

For most of the units, the improvements will include new kitchens and bathrooms, as well as life safety upgrades and energy efficiency improvements. The projects were designed and certified under the Enterprise Green Communities program, and are partly funded by a $1.6 million contribution from Action for Boston Community Development. When completed, the projects will save upwards of $1 million in energy costs annually, enabling CHA to meet its goal of generating 20 percent of its electricity onsite by 2020.

By CHA’s estimate, the ongoing construction at the developments is creating approximately 897 direct jobs and 1,040 indirect jobs through indirect and induced activities. Additionally, the projects are generating an additional output of $150 million through these indirect activities.

Funding for the projects was made possible through CHA’s use of the Rental Assistance Demonstration, an assistance program run by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. CHA also participates in HUD’s Moving to Work program, which provides operating support.

The financing of these projects marks a major milestone for CHA, which is now funding the most capital improvements underway in its 80 years of existence.

CHA and community members celebrated the first phase of the development with an event held yesterday at Washington Elms, one of the five sites under construction. Speakers for the event included Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons and City Manager Richard Rossi, as well as financial partners from Wells Fargo Community Lending and Investment and Citi Community Capital.

SourceBanker & Tradesman

$625,000 loan provided for Holyoke affordable housing project ‘Library Commons’

HOLYOKE — The developer planning to build a 47-unit affordable housing complex across from the Holyoke Public Library has received a $625,000 loan from a state-established agency toward the $13 million project.
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. (CEDAC) said it had committed the financing for HAPHousing’s Library Commons project in a press release Wednesday.
HAPHousing’s plan is to renovate three vacant buildings and build a new one on Chestnut, Essex and Elm streets for the Library Commons project, diagonally across from the Holyoke Public Library at 250 Chestnut St.
The CEDAC funding is a loan that HAPHousing will use to complete the purchase of properties over the next few months for the $13 million project, HAPHousing Project Manager Peter Serafino said in an email.
HAPHousing will give an update about the project Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Holyoke Public Library.
As for other financing for the project, HAPHousing has received a $400,000 pre-development loan from CEDAC to pay for architectural plans, environmental reports, surveys and appraisals, as well as federal historic rehabilitation tax credits that can be used for two of the three historic building, Serafino said.
Also, HAPHousing has applied to the state for tax credits and loans from a pool of money for low-income housing at the Department of Housing and Community Development, he said.
Of the project’s planned 47 apartments, 39 will be rented to household’s that earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income, which is about $52,000 for a four-person household. The other eight apartments will be available at market-rate rents, he said.
Two of the 47 apartments will be designed for people with mobility impairments, he said.
Besides renovating three existing buildings, HAPHousing plans to build Roque House, “a supportive services center,” that will be available to Library Commons residents for career counseling and other services, the CEDAC press release said.
The state of Massachusetts established CEDAC in 1978 to help organizations with community development. CEDAC is now a “public-private, community development finance institution, that provides technical assistance, pre-development lending and consulting services…,” according to its website.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/625000_loan_provided_for_holyo.html
© Copyright 2016 Mike Plaisance. All Rights Reserved.

SourceMassLive