Tag: predevelopment

Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire purchases new property

The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire has closed on the purchase of an 8-acre site at 910 South Main St. with plans to build 40 to 50 affordable apartments. The site has approximately 2 acres along Route 7 designated for development and is located in an area that was recently rezoned for use as a 40R Smart Growth Overlay District, which encourages high-density affordable housing.

Acquisition financing is being provided by The Life Initiative and Way Finders Inc. TLI is a $100 million community investment fund created in 1999 by Massachusetts-based life insurance companies that has invested over $300 million in affordable housing development, commercial properties, businesses and community facilities in the last 10 years. Way Finders, a co-sponsor with CDCSB on the project, was formerly known as HAP Housing and provides a full range of housing services as well as being a major developer and manager of high-quality affordable housing throughout western Massachusetts.

Predevelopment financing is being provided by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, a public-private community development finance institution that provides financial resources and technical expertise for community-based and other nonprofit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts. This funding enables CDCSB to advance the project into permitting in preparation for the state funding applications due February 2019.

SourceThe Berkshire Edge

Main South CDC gets financing for housing on Grand St.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation has provided $200,000 in predevelopment financing and up to $900,000 in acquisition financing to Main South CDC for the 92 Grand St. project in Worcester.

Main South CDC plans to purchase and redevelop a vacant lot in the University Park/LoomWorks neighborhood to create 49 units of affordable housing.

The site is adjacent to the CDC’s successful revitalization effort in the Kilby-Gardner-Hammond section of the Main South neighborhood that resulted in the creation and rehabilitation of 71 units of affordable rental housing and 42 homeownership units.

The development of 92 Grand St., which has already received funding support from Clark University, the Boys & Girls Club, and the City of Worcester, will include 13 units of housing for extremely low-income households, 6 units will be fully accessible, and commercial space.

http://www.telegram.com/news/20180118/main-south-cdc-gets-financing-for-housing-on-grand-st

SourceWorcester Telegram

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

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

Viet-Aid secures funds for Four Corners project

A $14.5 million Four Corners project put together under the auspices of the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development Inc. (Viet-AID) is moving ahead. The project recently picked up $600,000 predevelopment loan.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, which works on community development projects with state agencies, provided the loan. CEDAC also provided $450,000 to Viet-AID to purchase a part of the site.

The project includes two buildings that will replace a former auto body shop and nine vacant publicly owned lots. Viet-AID, which is based in Fields Corner, plans to build 35 affordable rental units. Nine of the units will be specifically for former homeless families.
One building will have three stories at 331-337 Washington Street and another building will have four stories at 322-336 Washington Street. There will also be 3,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floors and 23 parking spaces.

Construction is expected to start late this year and finish up at the beginning of 2016. The Boston Redevelopment Authority signed off on the project in October 2013.

“We are excited to see underutilized land in the Fairmount Corridor converted into sustainable, affordable housing,” Mayor Martin Walsh said in a statement.

Nam Pham, Viet-AID executive director, said the project is part of his organization’s transit oriented design strategy. The project is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Four Corners/Geneva commuter rail station.

Viet-AID has also received support for the project from the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.

SourceDorchester Reporter

Homeless project in Waban gets $40,000 loan

July 04, 2013

Homeless project in Waban gets $40,000 loan
By Evan Allen

Newton – Less than a week after Mayor Setti Warren of Newton announced he would block federal funding for a controversial homeless housing project in Waban, the public-private Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation announced it had approved a $40,000 loan to the developer.
“It’s good; it’s a vote of confidence in the project and in us,” said Jennifer Van Campen, executive director of Metro West Collaborative Development, which is developing the project, called Engine 6. “It helps us to continue moving forward.”
The corporation had already approved a $15,000 loan, but on June 27 the board voted to increase the amount.
“This type of housing is a high priority for the Commonwealth,” the corporation’s executive director, Roger Herzog, said Monday. “Providing permanent supportive housing for the formerly homeless is something that we need in many communities across the state, including Newton.”
Engine 6 would turn a historic firehouse on Beacon Street, currently in use as nonprofit office space, into housing units for nine formerly homeless people and one live-in staff member. The Pine Street Inn would manage the house.
Metro West estimated that the project would cost around $3.1 million, and had requested nearly $1.4 million in federal funds managed by the city in order to move forward. The Newton Housing Partnership and the city’s Planning and Development Board had voted to grant the money, and the request was set to go before the mayor for approval this past Tuesday after a public comment period.
But the idea of Engine 6 enraged some neighbors, who feared the home’s residents could endanger their children or aimlessly wander the streets causing trouble. Last Tuesday, Warren announced he would not grant funding because Newton needs more time to discuss the proposal. The city will hold workshops on affordable housing in the fall, and Warren said he was open to considering the project again at a later date.
Herzog said that though the board knew of Warren’s announcement when it voted to increase the loan, the decision to increase the grant was in the works for a while, and was not a direct response.
The $40,000 can be used for predevelopment costs, he said. Van Campen said the money would probably be used for environmental or architectural reviews.
Metro West has a purchase-and-sale agreement with the Hospice of the Good Shepherd to buy the firehouse, and the sale is scheduled to close Aug. 12. Despite Warren’s announcement, Metro West has vowed to press forward with the project.
A spokeswoman for the Pine Street Inn said early last week that without the support of the city, it could not move forward, but later said Pine Street was “leaving the door open” and would be happy to work with Newton and Metro West if the funding situation changed.

URL: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2013/07/03/homeless-project-waban-gets-loan/K5p0dIIcWsIufjqDaK78xO/story.html
© 2013 The New York Times Company

SourceBoston Globe

Metro West, Pine Street willing to fight for Waban housing project

July 1, 2013

Metro West, Pine Street willing to fight for Waban housing project

By Trevor Jones

Newton – The developer behind the proposed redevelopment of the Engine 6 building into apartments for the chronically homeless isn’t giving up on the project, despite Mayor Setti Warren’s decision to withhold support for the project.

Jennifer Van Campen, executive director of Metro West Collaborative Development, told the TAB on Thursday that she was disappointed by the Warren’s decision to opt against granting $1.3 million in city-controlled federal funds toward the Engine 6 project.

“We understand and respect the mayor’s concerns and the concerns of the citizens,” said Van Campen. “We are happy to participate in a longer public discourse over the next few months if that’s what it takes to win people’s support.”

Warren, who last week said he “can’t support the allocation of funding for this proposal at this time,” wouldn’t rule out the possibility of backing the project in the future. “We are open to any and all proposals from Metro West and other developers,” Warren told the TAB Thursday.

Metro West is looking to spend $3 million to redevelop Engine 6, a former firehouse on Beacon Street in Waban owned by Hospice of the Good Shepherd. The Newton Housing Partnership and the Planning and Development Board voted to recommend the allocation of city-controlled funds, which would have allowed Warren to approve the funds any time after the close of a public comment period on July 2.

The proposal was presented in partnership with Pine Street Inn, which runs similar facilities in Boston and Brookline. Barbara Trevisan, a Pine Street spokesperson, said the project can’t go forward without the city’s support, but the nonprofit would be willing to come back to the table if Warren changes his mind.

“We can’t predict the future,” said Trevisan. “If things should change with funding, we would be more than happy to work to with Metro West and the city. We’re definitely leaving the door open.”

Metro West wants to build 10 studio apartments in the building, nine of which would be permanent housing for men and women who have lived on the street for more than a year and have a history of addiction, or mental or physical disabilities.

 
Reaction strong on both sides

The project has drawn strong criticism from residents who raised concerns about safety and impacts on the character of the neighborhood.

Yet a group of supporters has also emerged in the days since Warren withdrew his support. Residents Kathleen Hobson and Liz Baum have organized a group of 60 Newton residents called Supporters of Engine 6. Hobson expects the group to continue to grow.

On Monday, Metro West announced that the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) has increased a predevelopment loan from $15,000 to $40,000.

“The underserved population in Newton has had limited access to affordable housing and supportive services, and the proposed project will help to meet this need,” said Roger Herzog, Executive Director of CEDAC. “The Engine 6 project will focus on serving residents with ties to the Newton community, and providing them with quality housing options and guidance when needed. We have had a productive relationship with MWCD on two recent affordable housing developments and are looking forward to working with them on this vital project.”

Metro West submitted a funding request to the state earlier this year for the project, but it was rejected, according to Van Campen. She said the typical affordable-housing project gets rejected at least twice because of the high volume of applicants and the $1 million in state funding they are seeking likely wouldn’t come through until a third funding round in 2014.

The next application window with the state is in the fall, she said, and Metro West hopes to have the mayor’s backing by that time. If Warren doesn’t change his mind on the federal funding or at least endorse Engine 6, it could be too much of a hurdle for the developer.

“That could be the end of the project,” said Van Campen. “That said, we’d probably still continue to the best of our ability to seek other sources, but whether they could make up that big a difference remains to be seen.”

Van Campen and supporters of Engine 6 said they want to meet with Warren to explain why the project is a good one for the city – a request the mayor said he would be open to.

“My door is open to meet within anyone on this subject,” he said.

Warren continued his call for a community dialogue on this and other affordable-housing projects in the fall and said there wasn’t enough done to reach out to residents to inform them of the project and elicit feedback.

Warren’s decision to block the funding has drawn mixed reactions. Opponents of the project and those who still have questions praised Warren’s willingness to take a step back, while some supporters of Engine 6 have decried the move as caving to a vocal minority. Some have said the move came because Warren wanted to please affluent residents of Waban during an election season.

Politics had nothing to do with the decision, Warren said.

Alderman John Rice, who represents Waban, said it was a tough decision, but the right one. Rice said residents told him the project felt rushed and they had little time to make their concerns heard.

“We have a great opportunity right now to keep the dialogue going while there’s so much energy and emotion about it and turn it into something that could be a real positive for Newton,” said Rice.

Alderman Deb Crossley expressed disappointment that the public dialogue was ended abruptly. Crossley also represents Waban and helped arrange and run two public meetings on the project. A meeting on June 23 drew hundreds of residents and the discussion occassionally grew heated. Warren did not attend the June 23 meeting.

Candidates weigh in

Two likely candidates in November’s mayoral race also publicly criticized Warren’s decision.
Alderman-at-Large Ted Hess-Mahan issued a press release late last week calling for the mayor to reconsider his decision to withhold funding, saying it made “no sense” to cancel the public meetings and expressing concern that doing so sent the message that the city didn’t welcome affordable housing projects.

Tom Sheff said he agreed with Warren’s decision not to fund the project, but that public meetings should not have been cancelled.

“I wish the Mayor had allowed the discussion to happen,” Sheff told the TAB in an email Monday morning.

Warren defended his decision Monday.

“Since taking office, we have worked hard to change the tone and tenor of discussion on issues in our city, and we must continue to do so,” Warren said.

URL: http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x606637144/Metro-West-Pine-Street-Inn-willing-to-fight-for-Waban-housing-project?zc_p=0
Copyright © 2006-2013 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.

SourceWicked Local Newton

Hilltown CDC loan key to affordable housing grant

Monday, April 30, 2012
Hilltown CDC loan key to affordable housing grant
By THE DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE
Staff Writer

CHESTERFIELD – The Hilltown Community Development Corporation took a step toward obtaining a $2.4 million housing grant last week when it was awarded a $75,000 pre-development loan from the Boston-based Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation.
Hilltown CDC’s housing director, Paul Lishcetti, said landing the loan is key to being able to apply for a grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development for housing developments in Williamsburg and Chesterfield.
“We are just crossing our fingers that we get the grant, ” he said.
The assistance corporation is a community development finance institution that provides technical assistance and loans to non-profits for housing.
Before pursuing the grant from the state, the Hilltown agency must provide pre-development specifications such as architectural, technical and legal information. The $75,000 will fund this research.
The money will be used in part to help create five units for homeless households, including the first three units in the Hilltown region specifically reserved for homeless families and two units for homeless veterans. “There is a four-unit rental property on South Street in Haydenville that we are interested in buying,” Lishcetti, said. “The other properties that will be remodeled or rehabilitated are 13 South Main St., and 148 Main St. in Haydenville, and 12 Williams St. in Williamsburg. Each of those properties has three rental units.
Lishcetti said the CDC also hopes to add a unit to a building at 397 Main Road in Chesterfield which currently has 7 units.
Lishcetti said his agency has seen a marked increase in people with lower incomes over the past few years who are in danger of becoming homeless.
“More people are now in need of lower-income housing. Prior to 2008, I have no recollection of people coming in and saying they are about to be foreclosed on,” he said. “We are also seeing a lot more homeless vets that we are renting to.”
Over the last several years, the Hilltown agency has developed 17 new or rehabilitated homes in the Hilltowns. The agency owns 30 units of rental housing in the Hilltowns including apartments in renovated buildings in Haydenville, Williamsburg, Chesterfield and Huntington.
“Many people think that there really is no problem with homelessness in the Hilltowns because people typically end up in shelters in other towns like Northampton or in other communities,” he said. “This is all part of an effort to help the people with the greatest needs in the Hilltowns.”

Daily Hampshire Gazette © 2011
URL: http://www.gazettenet.com/2012/04/30/hilltown-cdc-loan-key-to-affordable-housing-grant

SourceDaily Hampshire Gazette

Jackson rec center approved: Other Jackson projects stalled

June 24, 2011
Jackson rec center approved: Other Jackson projects stalled
By David Taber
JACKSON SQ.—Plans for a new recreation center received Boston Redevelopment Authority approval last week and two residential developments are moving forward, but other pieces of the elaborate Jackson Square redevelopment plan appear stalled with little or no explanation.
Nonprofit developer Urban Edge won BRA board approval June 16 to construct a 38,500-square-foot multi-use facility that will function a skating rink and an indoor turf field.
Under the name Jackson Square Partners, Urban Edge, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) private developer Mitchell Properties and others are working on a massive neighborhood redevelopment project in the square.
As the Gazette previously reported, Mitchell Properties planned to start this spring on construction on a 103-unit mixed income residential development.
But work has not yet begun on that development planned for the corner of Centre Street and Columbus Avenue near the Jackson Square T Station. Mitchell did not respond to Gazette requests for comment by press time.
Urban Edge staffer Noah Maslan told the Gazette the nonprofit still hopes to get about a quarter of the estimated $16 million the rec. center project will cost from bond funding by the state. If that works out, Urban Edge will begin a capital campaign in the fall with the hopes of raising the rest of the money in time for a fall 2012 construction start, he said.
Next door to the proposed site of the new recreation facility at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Ritchie Street, Urban Edge is also trying to secure funding to build Jackson Commons, a mixed-use residential and commercial development.
That project—a dramatic expansion of the Urban Edge-owned Webb building at 1542 Columbus Ave.—will have 38 mixed-income apartments and 12,000 square feet of community and commercial space.
Maslan said that project is waiting on the approval of state funds, and, if they are awarded, construction could begin by spring of 2012.
JPNDC spokesperson Sally Swenson told the Gazette the JPNDC recently received $100,000 in pre-development funds from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation. That funding will help the JPNDC finalize plans for a residential development at 75 Jackson St., a new street Jackson Square Partners plans to add to the neighborhood between Amory Street and the Southwest Corridor Park.
The JPNDC is also partnered with the local nonprofit the Hyde Square Task Force to develop a Youth and Families Center on the T station side of Columbus Avenue, but that project “has been postponed indefinitely” because of economic downturn-related fund-raising constraints, Swenson told the Gazette.

Copyright © 2011 Jamaica Plain Gazette.
URL: http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/2011/06/24/jackson-rec-center-approved/

SourceJamaica Plain Gazette

Amherst’s Olympia Oaks affordable housing project receives needed design work loan

Amherst’s Olympia Oaks affordable housing project receives needed design work loan
By Diane Lederman, The Republican

AMHERST – While plans to build to a 42-unit affordable housing project are before the Zoning Board of Appeals, the agency developing the project recently received a loan that will help it proceed with development work that will help lead to additional funding.

The Boston-based Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation awarded the Olympia Oaks project a loan of $95,500. HAPHousing, the Springfield-based nonprofit housing assistance agency, is working with the Northampton-based Valley Community Development Corp. on the project.

The community development finance company provides technical assistance, pre-development lending and consulting services to non-profit organizations involved in housing developments, among other projects.

Olympia Oaks on Olympia Drive is intended to provide affordable rents for people who earn 60 percent of the area’s median income.

HAP is currently seeking a comprehensive permit for the project from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The next hearing date is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.

Rudy Perkins, HAP project manager and staff attorney, said the loan allows HAP to continue with design work that will enable the agency to apply for funding for the project. “It gets us in a position where we can go forward,” he said. He said the town has been very generous with the pre-development work, but the money is not endless.

The town, which has continued to support the project, has contributed community block grant and community preservation money, including $340,000 in pre-development costs.

HAP will be able to apply for tax credits that would contribute a good portion of the projected $9 million to $10 million project cost. If approved, the project could begin in the spring of 2012, and some units could be ready at the end of 2012, Perkins said earlier this year. Most likely, the units would be ready in 2013.

The town took the 27-acre site, 13.5 acres of which is suitable for housing, in the late 1980s by eminent domain and had planned to develop a project in conjunction with the University of Massachusetts, which owns land nearby. UMass decided not to proceed, so in 2004 the town secured a $50,000 appropriation to prepare for development

SourceThe Republican (MassLive.com)