Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra (right) expressed gratitude to Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias (left) and the state for their investment in affordable housing in Northampton.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
NORTHAMPTON — State officials toured Massachusetts on Sept. 3 to announce $278 million in state and federal financing and tax credits for housing development, including $12.2 million for two housing projects in Northampton.
As part of the tour, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias visited the Meadowbrook Apartments in Florence to announce $6.85 million for the first phase of rehabilitation for 120 units at the site, and another $5.35 million for a new 30-unit development at 27 Crafts Ave. behind City Hall.
Meadowbrook Apartments is set to begin a $15 million upgrade to its units, as well. The updates include new flooring, kitchen and bathroom upgrades, improved ventilation, additional units adapted to ADA compliance, new siding and windows, unit deck repairs, roof replacements, parking lot and driveway paving, walkway repairs, landscape repairs and upgrades and a gas line replacement throughout the community.
Currently, 222 of the 252 total units at Meadowbrook are Low Income Housing Tax Credit units restricted to 60% Area Median Income, and the remaining 30 unrestricted “market” units predominantly house low-income families.
Property owners and the Preservation of Affordable Housing anticipate converting an additional 18 units at Meadowbrook to 60% Area Median Income units as part of its proposed financing and renovations, increasing affordability restrictions to 95% of the property. Phase 1 of the project will consist of 120 units across 10 of the 28 residential buildings, including 36 one-bedroom, 76 two-bedroom and eight three-bedroom units. One hundred and fourteen of the 120 Phase 1 units are expected to qualify as LIHTC 60% Area Median Income units.
The Crafts Avenue lot was donated to housing nonprofit Valley Community Development for affordable housing development. The $5.35 million in funding will go toward the housing, which, when completed, will include 30 studio apartments in the future six-story building. Twenty of those units will be designated to those coming out of homelessness, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra explained.
“This is really thrilling. We are so grateful to have you here and to celebrate these two projects in Northampton that were awarded grants,” said Sciarra. “Northampton, like the rest of the commonwealth, needs more housing; there’s no question. We need it at every level, but we especially need affordable housing, and we need it now. Governor [Maura] Healey, and you, Secretary [Matias], and I are all in agreement that Massachusetts needs to build more, but also it’s really critical to preserve the affordable housing that we already have. That’s what’s so exciting about this project here at Meadowbrook.”
The state’s investment in the Meadowbrook Apartments’ renovation utilizes about $2.8 million in state tax credits through the LIHTC Program and $4 million in state subsidy funds. The Crafts Avenue project received $2 million in tax credits through the same program and $3.335 million in state subsidies.
Preliminary plans shared three years ago for the Crafts Avenue project showed the average apartment size will be 327 square feet. The building will include bicycle storage rooms, a laundry room, and offices for property management, resident services and maintenance staff on-site.
“This is a project that is very near and dear to me both literally and figuratively because it is right behind City Hall, a new construction behind City Hall, and it’s on land that we have carved off from the municipal campus, which contains some parking but also an old retaining wall and really busted set of concrete stairs that need to be done away with at this point,” Sciarra explained.
The Affordable Homes Act and Healey’s tax cuts package made the money possible, according to Healey’s office. These awards are the largest single round from this housing program in more than a decade.
“We’re on a mission to build more homes and lower housing costs in every part of Massachusetts, and today we’re hitting the road to show that work in action,” Healey said in the statement on the announcement. “These awards will create more than 2,500 new homes in 20 communities across the state, and it’s made possible by the Affordable Homes Act that I proposed and signed. This is about making sure that Massachusetts is a state where teachers, nurses, firefighters and young people can actually afford to live.”
Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias (center) toured the Meadowbrook Apartments alongside Preservation of Affordable Housing President and CEO Aaron Gornstein (right) and Vice President for Ownership and Operations Dena Xifaras (left).
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
Healey did not attend the Northampton stop on the tour, but Matias joined Sciarra, Preservation of Affordable Housing President and CEO Aaron Gornstein, Vice President for Ownership and Operations Dena Xifaras, members of state Sen. Jo Comerford’s office and Western Mass Director for the Office of Governor Kristen Elechko.
Gornstein and Xifaras led Matias, Sciarra and other attendees on a tour of the apartment site, including some of the apartments that will be part of the first phase of renovation.
“Housing needs look different across the commonwealth, and this funding round responds with a wide range of solutions. These investments will deliver more than 2,500 new homes, while preserving existing communities and expanding opportunity for families, seniors, veterans and others,” said Matias.
The awards across the state include $154.7 million in subsidy financing from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, $61.8 million in state low-income housing tax credits, $47.9 million in 4% federal LIHTC and $13.2 million in 9% federal LIHTC. The state and federal tax credit awards are expected to generate nearly $500 million in equity for the developments.
You must be logged in to post a comment.