Tag: workforce housing

MassHousing Closes on $2.8 Million in Financing for New Workforce Housing in Northampton

MassHousing has closed on $2.8 million in affordable workforce housing financing to The Community Builders for the ongoing construction of the 12-unit 35 Village Hill Road in Northampton. Valley Community Development Corporation is the project co-sponsor.

The new housing, which is being developed on the site of the former Northampton State Hospital, will feature 10 workforce housing apartments for moderate-income households and two deeply affordable units for clients of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH).

“MassHousing is pleased to support The Community Builders and Valley Community Development in their transformation of a vacant lot into new homes for working households and residents in need,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “We’re happy that these new homes will serve working and disabled households for many years into the future.”

“The Community Builders is excited to once again be expanding housing opportunities at Village Hill in Northampton. Our organization is committed to building strong communities where all people can thrive. We are grateful to MassHousing and our other state and local partners who help us make this work possible” said TCB Director of Development Rachana Crowley.

“Valley Community Development is proud to be part of increasing the economic diversity of housing options at Village Hill,” said Valley’s Executive Director Joanne Campbell.

The 12 new apartments will be contained in one building, which will also have first-floor commercial space. Ten of the apartments at 35 Village Hill Road will be workforce housing units affordable to moderate-income households. Six of the workforce housing units will be deed-restricted for households earning at or below 120 percent of the Area Media Income (AMI), and four will be workforce units for households earning at or below 80 percent of AMI. Additionally, two units will be deeply affordable for DMH clients and will be supported by federal Section 8 project-based vouchers. The AMI for Northampton is $76,000 for a household of four.

There will be two studio apartments, six one-bedroom apartments and four two-bedroom apartments. Construction is expected to be completed in September.

MassHousing is providing TCB with $1.4 million in permanent financing, and $1.4 million in workforce housing funding from the Agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative.

In addition to the MassHousing financing, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is providing the project-based vouchers and $1.5 million in direct support. The project also received $1.3 million in funding through the Community Scale Housing Initiative (CSHI), a joint initiative of DHCD and MassHousing that funds smaller-scale affordable rental developments.

The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) is providing $360,000 in financing, the City of Northampton contributed $200,000 in local Community Preservation Act funding and Citizens Bank is providing $2.5 million in construction financing.

35 Village Hill Road advances the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal of creating up to 1,000 new workforce housing units affordable to middle-income households through MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative. Since the inception of the initiative in 2016, MassHousing has committed or closed workforce housing financing totaling $98.2 million, to 45 projects, located in 21 cities and towns. To date, the Workforce Housing Initiative has advanced the development of 4,030 housing units across a range of incomes, including 1,096 workforce housing units.

The general contractor is Western Builders. The architect is Davis Square Architects and the management agent is TCB.

MassHousing has financed five rental housing communities in Northampton totaling 642 units of housing with an overall original loan amount of $33.4 million and the Agency has also provided home mortgage loans to 427 homebuyers and homeowners with an original purchase principal balance of $31.2 million.

SourceBoston Real Estate Times

Construction begins on 51 affordable apartments in Revere

With market-rate apartments sprouting along Revere’s oceanfront, a new development is ensuring that some of them will be offered at affordable rents.

The Neighborhood Developers, a Chelsea-based nonprofit, recently broke ground on a $22 million project to construct 51 units of affordable housing at 571 Revere St., a block from the beach and near the Wonderland MBTA station.

Opening in spring 2021, the six-story building will feature a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, a shared community room, and underground parking, according to Rafael Mares, executive director of The Neighborhood Developers.

Mares said the project will help meet a growing need for affordably priced housing in the city. He said that includes the Revere Beach area, where 1,168 new market-rate apartments are completed, under construction, or planned in the Waterfront Square development area.

“Particularly in a community where rents are continuing to increase and where many local residents cannot afford to pay market-rate rents, we wanted to provide a place where people in Revere could still live in Revere and to be close to the beach and public transportation,” he said.

Thirty-two of the building’s units will be affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of the $113,300 area median income for a family of four, with 11 of those further restricted to households with incomes below that figure. Nineteen units will be “workforce housing” for households earning up to 90 percent of area median income. Preference for 70 percent of the units will go to Revere residents.

As of October 2018, market-rate rents in that neighborhood were an estimated $1,850, $2,175, and $2,650 for one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, respectively, according to Mares.

Rents at 571 Revere St. will be $1,266, $1,520, and $1,755 except for the workforce units, all one-bedrooms, which will rent for $1,778. But most rents will be subsidized based on tenant income.

The Neighborhood Developers owns 461 rental apartments in Chelsea and Revere, some of which it developed. Its Revere properties include two in the Shirley Avenue neighborhood, which is in the vicinity of the beach but is not seeing the rapid development of new market-rate units.

Bob O’Brien, Revere’s director of economic development, said the city has enjoyed a “successful and very positive relationship with The Neighborhood Developers over the years,” and welcomes its latest project.

The future affordable units will complement the market-rate apartments in Waterfront Square, O’Brien said, adding that the new building also was designed to be visually compatible with those in the square.

In addition to its new residential units, Waterfront Square when completed will encompass a 172-room Marriott Hotel and five restaurants, among other public amenities. The development also has been supported by such public investments as construction of a new pedestrian bridge linking Wonderland Station and Revere Beach.

O’Brien said the Revere Street project advances the city’s goal of expanding affordable housing, including near the beach. He noted that low-cost housing in the area is not unprecedented, citing the Jack Satter House, a decades-old 266-unit senior complex that continues to operate on Revere Beach Boulevard.

He also observed that the Waterfront Square apartments, though market-rate, are lower priced than comparable ones in Boston.

The Revere Street property was formerly the site of The Cove, a bar that closed in 2014. The Neighborhood Developers bought the parcel in 2017.

The project is being undertaken with the help of a mix of state and federal funds, including $7.9 million in financing from MassHousing.

A lottery to select future tenants is expected next winter.

John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com.

SourceLISC Boston

WinnCompanies joins with state and city officials to announce plans for $38.3 million mixed-income development in Lowell

WinnCompanies, an award-winning multifamily development and management company, today joined with Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, state and Lowell city officials to unveil plans for a $38.3 million residential construction project in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District, a collection of 17 parcels master-planned to transform the primary gateway of downtown Lowell.

Building on vacant, side-by-side parcels separated by Canal Street, WinnDevelopment will create two five-story buildings with 125 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space. It will be a true mixed income project—54 workforce apartments will rent at 100 percent of Area Median Income (AMI); 39 units will be affordable up to 60 percent of AMI; and, 32 apartments will rent at market rates.

“We’re pleased to be moving ahead with a development featuring a sizable component of workforce housing, which seems appropriate for the city seen as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America,” said WinnDevelopment President Larry Curtis. “This project will add a new twist to our long track record of delivering innovative mixed-income, mixed-use communities that contribute to the vitality and the economy of Lowell.”

(left to right): Lowell Mayor William Samaras, Lowell City Manager Eileen Donoghue, Massachusetts State Rep. David M. Nangle, Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, WinnCompanies Executive Vice President Michael O’Brien and WinnDevelopment President Larry Curtis.

The Lowell City Council cleared the way for the project on Tuesday night, unanimously voting to approve Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing (UCH-TIF) under a new state program designed to promote multifamily housing in urban centers. Construction is expected to begin in late December 2019 and be completed in December 2021.

“These are fun places to live. There’s a lot going on. There’s a vibe in the downtowns of these old industrial cities because of this collaboration and the willingness of all of you to take the chance, to take the risk, and move forward,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. “This is a best-of-everything project because you a mixed use project combining commercial and housing together, but it’s also mixed income. To have workforce housing, affordable housing and market rate housing all together is a really great accomplishment. It’s something to the core that WinnCompanies fully embraces.”

Construction will be financed with equity generated by Bank of America’s purchase of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; a construction loan from Bank of America; a first mortgage and Workforce Housing funds from MassHousing; financing from the Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development under the state’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Housing Stabilization Fund and HOME program; financing from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation in the form of the Facilities Consolidation Fund and the Community-Based Housing program; Opportunity Zone investment and developer equity from WinnCompanies; and, funds from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and MassSave, both dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and clean technology.

The City of Lowell is supporting the project with HOME program funds, the UCH-TIF plan, and infrastructure investments in and around the 51,000-square-foot site.

“The City has made significant investments to put in place the infrastructure needed to support private development in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District. We are pleased that WinnCompanies has put forward a project that will capitalize on these investments and that will help meet the demand for more safe and energy-efficient housing in Lowell in a way that will also stimulate commercial growth in this key area,” said City Manager Eileen Donoghue. “This announcement marks the continuation of a positive partnership between WinnCompanies and the City that has been successful in developing high quality projects that advance our economic development goals.”

WinnDevelopment Project Director Matthew Curtin will lead the development team, which features Keith Construction; ICON Architecture; landscape architect Copley Wolff Design Group; interior designer Wolf in Sheep Design; civil engineer Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB); and, structural engineer Odeh Engineers. Deirdre Robinson, a partner at Sullivan & Worcester, serves as legal counsel for the project.

“I am thrilled to see additional private investment in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District. Bringing mixed-use developments to this area is important to ensure that our downtown continues to grow and thrive into the future,” said Lowell Mayor William Samaras.

The development will offer 15 studio apartments, 63 one-bedroom apartments and 47 two-bedroom apartments. The two residential buildings will be linked to each other by an enclosed sky bridge spanning Canal Street, a nod to Lowell’s history when similar connectors joined industrial mill buildings. The sky bridge will also compliment the new signature bridge the city recently built over the lower Pawtucket Canal.

Ambitious Energy Performance Goals

The complex will be designed, built and operated to achieve stringent energy performance goals, including certification through both Energy Star Homes and Enterprise Green Communities.

The environmentally responsible design and construction will feature high-efficiency air source heat pumps for heating and cooling, high performance building envelope details, including robust exterior wall and roof insulation, ENERGY STAR windows, LED lighting, ENERGY STAR appliances, and balanced ventilation with energy recovery for healthy indoor air quality and maximum efficiency.

Final Enterprise Green Communities certification will be achieved post-construction, following rigorous inspections, performance testing and verification provided by Boston based non-profit New Ecology Inc.

Critical incentive funding made available through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and MassSave Residential New Construction Program will support added construction costs associated with the project’s HVAC systems and building envelope design, which were designed and selected to reduce the project’s carbon emissions and long-term energy efficiency goals.

Located a half mile from the Lowell Connector with direct access to Route 495 and Route 3, the apartment community will be adjacent to a new 900-space parking garage that is under construction to serve downtown businesses and the new Lowell Justice Center regional court facility scheduled for completion in fall 2020. Residents also will be within walking distance of downtown retail business, a commuter rail line and bus routes served by the Gallagher Intermodal Terminal, as well as downtown retail businesses.

Lowell hosts the single largest concentration of properties owned by WinnCompanies in the United States. In addition, more than 100 company executives and accounting team members work at its regional headquarters in Boott Mills.

A member of the Lowell business community for nearly 25 years, WinnCompanies currently owns and manages seven award-winning residential properties featuring 572 apartments and condominiums, as well as 88,000 square feet of commercial space. The company’s property management arm, WinnResidential, manages an additional 250 apartments in the city.

About WinnCompanies

WinnCompanies is an award-winning national developer and manager of high-impact affordable, middle income and market rate housing communities. Supported by 3,500 team members, the company acquires, develops and manages affordable, senior, mixed-income, market rate, military and mixed use properties. Founded in 1971 and operating in 22 states and the District of Columbia, WinnCompanies is one of the nation’s leading multifamily housing managers with 100,000 units under management. It is the country’s largest manager of affordable housing and the second largest manager of privatized U.S. military housing.

SourceYield PRO Magazine

WinnCo Unveils $38.3 Million Workforce Housing Project in Lowell

WinnCompanies, a multifamily development and management company, joined with Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, state and Lowell city officials to unveil plans for a $38.3 million residential construction project in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District, a collection of 17 parcels master-planned to transform the primary gateway of downtown Lowell.

Building on vacant, side-by-side parcels separated by Canal Street, WinnDevelopment will create two five-story buildings with 125 apartments and 5,000 square feet of commercial space. It will be a true mixed income project – 54 workforce apartments will rent at 100% of Area Median Income (AMI); 39 units will be affordable up to 60% of AMI; and, 32 apartments will rent at market rates.

“We’re pleased to be moving ahead with a development featuring a sizable component of workforce housing, which seems appropriate for the city seen as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America,” said WinnDevelopment President Larry Curtis. “This project will add a new twist to our long track record of delivering innovative mixed-income, mixed-use communities that contribute to the vitality and the economy of Lowell.”

The Lowell City Council cleared the way for the project on Tuesday night, unanimously voting to approve Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing (UCH-TIF) under a new state program designed to promote multi-family housing in urban centers. Construction is expected to begin in late December 2019 and be completed in December 2021.

“These are fun places to live. There’s a lot going on. There’s a vibe in the downtowns of these old industrial cities because of this collaboration and the willingness of all of you to take the chance, to take the risk, and move forward,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. “This is a best-of-everything project because you a mixed use project combining commercial and housing together, but it’s also mixed income. To have workforce housing, affordable housing and market rate housing all together is a really great accomplishment. It’s something to the core that WinnCompanies fully embraces.”

Construction will be financed with equity generated by Bank of America’s purchase of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; a construction loan from Bank of America; a first mortgage and Workforce Housing funds from MassHousing; financing from the Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development under the state’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Housing Stabilization Fund and HOME program; financing from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation in the form of the Facilities Consolidation Fund and the Community-Based Housing program; Opportunity Zone investment and developer equity from WinnCompanies; and, funds from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and MassSave, both dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and clean technology.

The City of Lowell is supporting the project with HOME program funds, the UCH-TIF plan, and infrastructure investments in and around the 51,000-square-foot site.

“The City has made significant investments to put in place the infrastructure needed to support private development in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District. We are pleased that WinnCompanies has put forward a project that will capitalize on these investments and that will help meet the demand for more safe and energy-efficient housing in Lowell in a way that will also stimulate commercial growth in this key area,” said City Manager Eileen Donoghue. “This announcement marks the continuation of a positive partnership between WinnCompanies and the City that has been successful in developing high quality projects that advance our economic development goals.”

WinnDevelopment Project Director Matthew Curtin will lead the development team, which features Keith Construction; ICON Architecture; landscape architect Copley Wolff Design Group; interior designer Wolf in Sheep Design; civil engineer Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB); and, structural engineer Odeh Engineers. Deirdre Robinson, a partner at Sullivan & Worcester, serves as legal counsel for the project.

“I am thrilled to see additional private investment in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District. Bringing mixed-use developments to this area is important to ensure that our downtown continues to grow and thrive into the future,” said Lowell Mayor William Samaras.

The development will offer 15 studio apartments, 63 one-bedroom apartments and 47 two-bedroom apartments. The two residential buildings will be linked to each other by an enclosed sky bridge spanning Canal Street, a nod to Lowell’s history when similar connectors joined industrial mill buildings. The sky bridge will also compliment the new signature bridge the city recently built over the lower Pawtucket Canal.

SourceBoston Real Estate Times

44 New Affordable Housing Units Built In Bourne

Bourne, which has the largest percentage of affordable housing units compared to market-rate homes of any town on the Upper Cape, recently celebrated the construction of another 44 affordable units.

The latest additions are townhouse units in the development known as High Meadow Townhomes in Monument Beach. It is the third and final piece of a development roughly 10 years in the making.

The High Meadow Townhomes development is just off Clay Pond Road. It consists of 44 two- and three-bedroom townhouses for families and seniors. It is one-third of the development that started with the Residences at Canal Bluffs, 28 affordable apartments that opened in 2009. That was followed by Clay Pond Cove, 45 individual, family and senior affordable apartments which opened in 2012.

With the addition of High Meadow Townhomes, Bourne now has 641 units in its inventory of affordable homes. Town Planner Coreen V. Moore said that brings Bourne’s total affordable homes percentage to 7.4. The state has set a goal of 10 percent for Massachusetts cities and towns. Bourne has the highest percentage of affordable units on the Upper Cape and is third behind Orleans and Barnstable across the Cape, she said.

Local and state officials took part in a grand opening, ribbon-cutting ceremony at the development on October 5. Among the attendees were US Congressman William R. Keating (D-MA 9th District), state Senator Viriato M. (Vinny) deMacedo (R-Plymouth), and state Representative Randy Hunt (R-Sandwich).

“There is nothing more important than being able to provide someone with a roof over their head and a safe and a warm place to go that is affordable,” Senator deMacedo said.

Congressman Keating noted the great need on Cape Cod for affordable housing, particularly for younger people who are getting started on their careers.

“There’s a great need for people who fill out a whole demographic pool—younger people, people who are starting families, people that we need to meet the job needs we have in this area and grow our economy forward,” he said.

Groundbreaking on High Meadow Townhomes occurred in July of last year and culminated with the ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 5. The three-phased project was a collaborative effort between Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) and Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).

HAC reported it received more than 200 applications for the 44 units at High Meadow last summer. Tenants are expected to begin moving into their townhomes next month, HAC officials said.

JANEY, Inc. of Boston served as the general contractor for the $14.1 million project. Funding was provided with $7.6 million in low-income housing tax credit from Boston Capital, as well as a $3.3 million loan from MassHousing. Additional funding was provided by Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Barnstable County HOME Consortium, Rockland Trust, and MassHousing’s Opportunity Fund.

The Canal Bluffs site was, at one time, slated to be home to a computer technology company, which ultimately decided not to develop the property. Businessman William Zammer of Mashpee bought the land and eventually sold the 19 acres to HAC to develop as rental housing. HAC then partnered with POAH on the project.

The new units have been equipped with EPA-approved Energy Star appliances, including a refrigerator, oven and dishwasher. Each unit has vinyl plank flooring, ample closet space, central air conditioning, and washer/dryer hook-ups. The site also features laundry facilities, out-of-unit storage, and 64 parking spaces, which comes to approximately 1.5 spaces per unit.

During construction of Clay Pond Cove, a wastewater treatment plant was built. It serves all three buildings as well as the abutting retail shopping center, which once housed Grand Union supermarket.

SourceThe Bourne Enterprise

Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Completion of Mixed-Housing Development in Bourne

Congressman Bill Keating (D-MA 9th District) joined local elected officials in Bourne on Friday morning to celebrate the completion of High Meadow Townhomes with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The apartment homes mark the end of the third and final phase of a mixed-income residential development for the town containing 117 affordable, workforce and market rate apartments.

Keating began his remarks by speaking about how workers had to clear the high density of heavy boulders that previously took up the land the town houses now stand on.

“This is a day to look back, remember the boulders that were there, and remember that we together moved those boulders and created something that will unite us all and bring us closer together,” said Keating. “If we’re going to go forward and try to do everything at the local level, and the state level, and use the resources at the federal level, as well as have non-profits here regionally all working together, municipal leaders all working together, we can take those boulders that look like great challenges. Working together we can move them and move forward for progress to create what’s here now.”

The project’s third phase was made possible by $7.6 million in 9-percent low-income housing tax credit equity from Boston Capital and a mortgage from MassHousing.

“We love this community. It’s a community where my wife Tevis and myself, we live here, we’re neighbors. This is going to make this community stronger and it’s going to make the Cape stronger because there’s a bigger need,” Keating stated. “These 44 town houses and the 117 homes and residences that will be here for people will be a success story that will drive not only drive a more successful Bourne community, but something we need on Cape Cod as well. As we all know, there’s a great need in our region for housing.”

Residents of the first two phases also turned out for the ceremony alongside project supporters and funders. Current Canal Bluffs resident and High Meadow Townhomes lottery applicant Melissa Harris delivered a speech at the event.

Fifth Barnstable State Representative Randy Hunt also spoke at the ribbon cutting, and explained the ever-growing need for housing on Cape Cod.

“We could do this project ten times over in next year on Cape Cod and it would not satisfy the demand that’s here. So, what I’m hoping for is that we can accelerate this some because there is such a huge need,” said Hunt. “We get the fact that it takes a lot of people to make these things happen. We also get the fact that it’s super important that we have housing available on Cape Cod that’s affordable, not only affordable from a traditional sense but also in workforce housing. Some of the units here are going to be rented out in accordance to those rules.”

Other notable speakers included State Senator Vincent deMacedo, State Representative Randy Hunt, Housing Assistance Corporation CEO Alisa Galazzi, Assistant Undersecretary of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development Susan Terrey, and Director of Housing Development at Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, Sara Barcan.

SourceCapeCod.com