Tag: Valley CDC

Amherst to consider single-room occupancy units along Route 9

The Town Council will convene a special “Open Meeting of the Residents” Monday, June 24, to consider 28 single-room occupancy units along Route 9.

The nonprofit Valley Community Development Corporation of Northampton is requesting $500,000 of the municipality’s Community Preservation Act funds that, if approved, would go towards constructing the units at 132 Northampton Road.

The meeting will be held at Bangs Community Center, located at 70 Boltwood Walk, located off of Main and North Pleasant streets in downtown Amherst, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Valley Community Development Corporation will make a presentation that night, as will Amherst Community Preservation Act Committee, and the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust.

Abutters to the proposed project and residents have also been invited to make presentations to the Town Council.

“There will be ample time for residents and others to comment. Comments will be limited to 3 minutes. If questions arise that are able to be answered during the meeting, the Town Council President will recognize the person(s) who will respond. All questions will be recorded and, to the extent possible, answers will be provided on the Town’s website within a week,” a meeting notice for the public forum says.

The $500,000 Community Preservation Act fund request by Valley is contingent on Town Council approval.

The Council’s Finance Committee is expected make a recommendation on the CPA funding request the next day, during a June 25 meeting scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. The full Council is slated to decide whether to approve it on July 1, according to the town’s website.

Valley Community Development Corporation purchased the Northampton Road property in January for $407,500, having secured a mortgage in that amount from Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation.

The CEDAC is a quasi-state agency that describe themselves as “a public-private community development finance institution that provides financial resources and technical expertise for community-based and other non-profit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts.”

The lending agency’s board chairwoman is Janelle Chan, Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development in the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

CEDAC’s 10-person governing board also includes Beth Rubenstein, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Real Estate, at the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance.

According to a document prepared by Valley Community Development Corporation on the town’s website, the organization aims to: “Renovate the existing vacant single family house on the site plus construct an addition to accommodate 28 small studio units (approximately 240 sf each) plus common areas and provider office.”

The Valley document states: “The Town of Amherst has conducted extensive community process regarding the issue of homelessness. A Forum on Homelessness (July 2016) attracted several hundred residents. One of the primary strategies identified to address homelessness was the creation of subsidized, small studio apartments with supportive services for low income single adults. There are currently no units of this type in Town.”

An additional “$200,000 to fund architectural fees and energy consulting for SRO project” has been requested via Amherst’s Community Development Block Grant program, the town’s website says.

SourceMassLive

Sergeant House receives $7.2M tax credit

A $7.2 million tax credit will fund the renovation and expansion of the Sergeant House affordable housing complex on Bridge Street starting next year.

The state Department of Housing and Community Development awarded the low-income tax credit on Wednesday to the Valley Community Development Corp. to expand its housing options for low-wage earners, the homeless, retirees and disabled people.

“I’m most excited because people will get better housing and there will be more folks who can afford to live in Northampton,” said Joanne Campbell, executive director of Valley CDC.

The $8.2 million project will double the size of the Sergeant House, 82 Bridge St., to 31 units, each equipped with its own bathroom and kitchen. Currently, 15 tenants share one kitchen and multiple bathrooms. Renovations will include a new elevator, a handicapped-accessible entryway, on-site property management and social service offices.

Temporary housing will be provided for tenants during construction, which Campbell says should begin next April and last about nine months. Valley CDC has hired a relocation specialist to help residents find temporary housing, and will cover any difference in rent.

“They are very excited,” Campbell said of the tenants.

The city of Northampton will provide $500,000 in additional funds through the Community Preservation Act and the federal Community Development Block Grant. The Northampton-based Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation provided funds for the preliminary architectural plans, site drawings and permits. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston also provided a $500,000 grant.

Campbell said Northampton’s city government is committed to building affordable housing, with new projects like Live 155, the Lumber Yard and upcoming Village Hill developments all setting aside low-income units.

“There’s a lot of good development that’s going on that’s serving lower income renters,” Campbell said. “Is there enough? Of course not.”

Sergeant House offers housing units to people earning less than 60 percent of the average median income for the Springfield metropolitan area, which is $33,900 for an individual, and $48,420 for four people. The complex has been owned and operated by Valley CDC since 1990.

About 25 percent of the Sergeant House’s new units will be set aside for people coming out of homelessness, and another 25 percent will be reserved for people earning less than 30 percent of the average median income.

Valley CDC manages about 53 housing units in Northampton, Florence and Easthampton, according to Campbell, and about 80 people are on a waitlist for existing housing units.

When Sergeant House reopens, everyone on the waitlist will be notified of the new units and can apply to live there through a lottery.

Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com.

SourceDaily Hampshire Gazette

Northampton affordable housing apartment complex ‘The Lumber Yard’ breaks ground

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Northampton Wednesday for The Lumber Yard Apartments, a new affordable housing complex coming to the city.

The project is the product of Northampton-based non-profit Valley Community Development Corporation (CDC), which dedicates itself to empowering low and moderate income individuals through housing development and home ownership encouragement.

Upon completion, the Lumber Yard, located at 256 Pleasant Street, will be a four-story, 70,000-square complex, replete with 55 units that offers housing to low and moderate income families and individuals. It sits on the site of former lumber business Northampton Lumber, hence its name.

The cost of the project is nearly $19 million. Its development has been facilitated through funding and support from a wide number of organizations and institutions, including the City of Northampton, state organization MassWorks, the state Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, TD Bank, Way Finders, and Smith College.

Representatives from many of the organizations were present Wednesday, along with Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz and state Secretary of Housing and Community Development Jay Ash, both of whom played roles in providing funding for the project.

Boston-area architect Clifford Boehmer got an earful at Thursday’s joint public hearing.

The Lumberyard has been in development for roughly four-and-a-half years, with predevelopment beginning in 2013, said Joanne Campbell, director of Valley CDC, during her remarks Wednesday. Campbell thanked the project’s many financial backers and contributors, saying that the “collaboration between so many people to make this work has been unbelievable.”

“I really want to thank all those supporters–too many to mention–for the advocacy and friendship during what was sometimes a hairy process,” Campbell said.

The project ran into snags during development, including the discovery of an 1847 storm water conduit that runs under the property that would have to be relocated. Funding for the relocation is being covered by MassWorks, a state infrastructure program.

Other setbacks included a lawsuit from an abutter that was later settled that claimed the project impinged on his property, as well as public complaints about the size and scale of the project during initial public meetings regarding the project.

However, if the building has been met with some pushback it has also been generously assisted by numerous organizations and individuals along the way, Campbell noted Wednesday.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor David Narkewicz commended the project and described it as another important addition in a larger initiative to revitalize the Pleasant Street corridor. “This project is part of a larger commitment on the part of the city to make strategic public investments not only to support affordable housing but also economic development,” as well as to further develop “this important corridor to our city,” Narkewicz said.

The agenda to transform Pleasant Street has been an oft touted goal of Narkewicz, who stated earlier this year that the street was “an important gateway” to Northampton that would continue to be targeted for private investment and state grants.

The project will bring 55 affordable units and leverage improvements to Pleasant Street.

Narkewicz further stated Wednesday it had been a pleasure to work with Secretary Ash on the project.

Ash, whose office helped to secure the bulk of the funds for the project, said during his remarks Wednesday that he was excited to see the project completed. “This is an important project because it sends a message to the entire state that Northampton is a leader in affordability,” he said.

Ash further remarked that he had a personal connection to projects like this, seeing as he himself was a “beneficiary” of affordable housing and grew up in affordable housing in the Boston neighborhood of Chelsea during his early years. “I know just how important affordability can be for individuals and families, as well as for the community,” Ash said.

After construction is completed, a marketing campaign will be used to alert potential tenants some six months before the building is ready for occupancy, Campbell said. After accepting applications, applicants will be reviewed and interviewed, and qualifying candidates will participate in a lottery.

Campbell said she expects the marketing campaign will begin sometime during the Spring of 2019.

The Valley CDC also plans to move its central offices from their current locations on Market Street to a location adjacent to the apartment complex on Holyoke Street.

The myriad contributions and financial support that went towards realizing the project include a grant of $100,000 from Smith College’s affordable housing fund. The City of Northampton, meanwhile, provided $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds and Community Preservation Act funds. TD Bank is contributing to the project by providing tax credit equity, construction and permanent financing.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/11/northampton_lumber_yard_afford.html

SourceMassLive.com

$19M affordable housing project coming to Northampton

The Valley Community Development is investing $19 million to turn the former Northampton Lumber Company property into 55 affordable housing units and commercial space.

“So the majority of the units are affordable to people who earn between 50 and 60 percent of the median income, which means about $25,000 to $50,000 in income, based on household size,” said Joanne Campbell, Executive Director of Valley Community Development.

The project will house 55 families, one to three bedrooms apartments on four floors.

Twelve of those apartments will be for people earning 30 percent of the median income or less.

“So that’s for really low income households,” Campbell told 22News.

On Wednesday, more than 50 people gathered at the site, which is part of a larger project to revitalize the Pleasant Street Corridor, which is considered the gateway to downtown Northampton.

The city has invested a half a million dollars in the project.

“We’ve also invested significant grant money to do infrastructure work along the corridor, specifically moving storm water that affects this project,” said Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz.

Northampton has also built new raised crosswalks and curb extensions. The state invested $2.5 million of tax money in that project.

“It has a multiple benefit of providing affordable housing for the community, bringing some market rate housing to the community and also rehabbing a vacant space that has been kind of hoovering over the community,” said Jay Ash, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development.

The state provided the bulk of financing.

The entire project is expected to take about 18 months.

http://wwlp.com/2017/11/01/19m-affordable-housing-project-coming-to-northampton/

SourceWWLP