EASTHAMPTON — The city of Easthampton was recently awarded a $4.4 million grant from the state’s HousingWorks Infrastructure Program to help accommodate a major housing project happening at 11 Ferry St.
The project, which is being done in collaboration with the city and Home City Development Inc., a Springfield-based nonprofit real estate developer, includes a five-story, all-electric residential rental building with 96 units of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
Ninety-one of these apartments will be considered affordable, according to Peter Serafino, the senior project manager for Home City Development, while five will be market rate.
“The affordability is for households earning up to 60% of area median income,” Serafino said.
A portion of the money received from the HousingWorks grant will go toward streetscape improvements, street realignment and sidewalk improvements around the proposed housing site, while the rest of it will go toward infrastructure improvements on the development site, according to Serafino.
“Home City Development congratulates Mayor LaChapelle and her team for obtaining HousingWorks funds for 11 Ferry St. infrastructure and nearby streetscape improvements,” said Home City Executive Director Thomas Kegelman. “Gov. [Maura] Healey, Lt. Gov. [Kim] Driscoll, Secretary Ed Augustus, [state] Sen. John Velis [D-Westfield] and [state] Rep. Daniel Carey [D-Easthampton] deserve credit for taking action to help launch much-needed new housing in Western Mass.”
Home City leases the 11 Ferry St. property from One Industrial Lofts LLC, which is managed by Mike Michon, a developer who has already renovated former mill buildings 3 and 5 Ferry St. into market rate residential space and some commercial space, and has plans to renovate 7 Ferry St., another former industrial building, into more rental housing.
“We are proud to be working with Mike Michon and the City to redevelop the unused former mill complex into a vibrant community that will be a great place for folks to live,” said Kegelman, regarding the 11 Ferry St. project.
According to Serafino, the housing at 11 Ferry St. will meet high energy efficiency standards with Energy Star and Zero Energy Ready certifications, and the development will feature a rooftop solar array, electric vehicle charging stations, and a bike lane linking Ferry Street to the Manhan Rail Trail.
“That’s really important these days in any type of housing,” Serafino said. “And the mandate now for affordable housing is to have a high level of energy efficiency.”
The project, which will cost around $50 million in total, will include other amenities like a property management office for residential services, a passive outdoor space, a community room on the fifth floor, a rooftop deck and indoor bike storage for residents.
Aside from the $4.4 million from the state, the project has also received $500,000 in Community Preservation Act money from the city.
The plan now, according to Serafino, is to submit an application to the state in February to hopefully receive low-income housing tax credits, rental vouchers for low-income households, and soft debt, which are loans that do not get repaid.
“The tax credits, the soft debt and the rental vouchers are the key pieces we need to make this building get into construction,” Serafino said. “We’re very optimistic … by the time we submit our application, we’ll have 100% construction drawings.”
To learn more about the 11 Ferry St. project and the other projects that are happening on the One Ferry St. campus, readers can visit the One Ferry St. website: oneferryproject.com.
According to the state, the HousingWorks Infrastructure Program is a competitive grant to municipalities and other public entities for a variety of infrastructure related activities to support and unlock housing opportunities. This grant program awards funds based on the project’s nexus with housing, transportation, infrastructure and community development needs.
