City announces largest-ever affordable housing funding awards of $69.2 Million

City announces largest-everaffordable housing fundingawards of $69.2 MillionFRONT PAGE PHOTO: Members of community organizations from across the city gather with Mayor Walsh for announcement of the affordable housing funding awards for 1,097 units of housingBOSTON – On Friday, February 7, 2020 and building on his commitment to create and preserve affordable housing in Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced $69.2 million in new and recommended funding from the Department of Neighborhood Development, the Neighborhood Housing Trust, and the Community Preservation Fund to create and preserve 1,097 units of housing. The new funding will create 936 new units and preserve 161 units of housing, with a majority of them serving households with incomes at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), which amounts to $71,100 or less for a family of four. The new units are a combination of homeownership and rental opportunities and include special projects with units set aside for formerly homeless households, youth aging out of the foster care system, seniors, and artists. To ensure that all units receiving City funding will remain affordable, developers are required to agree to long-term affordability for all income-restricted units. All rental projects are permanently deed-restricted, and all homeownership projects are deed-restricted for 50 years. The City carefully underwrites projects to leverage additional sources of funding. For the homeownership opportunities, first-time homebuyers earning 100% or less of AMI can receive financial assistance to purchase a home. The Boston Home Center also offers home buying and credit counseling classes as well as one-on-one counseling to assist in the homebuying process. The following is a complete list of the proposals that are receiving funding from the Department of Neighborhood Development and Neighborhood Housing Trust, as well as recommended projects for inclusion in the next round for the Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding: CITYWIDE$4,000,000 for the Acquisition Opportunity Program to prevent displacement by purchasing existing private market rental units and making them permanently affordable, both protecting current tenants and safeguarding the City’s affordable housing stock $4,000,000 for the ONE+Boston program to help income-eligible first-time home buyers receive down payment assistance and a permanent reduction in the interest rate of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for Bostonians buying within city limits BRIGHTON$5,000,000 to contribute to the funding for 143 affordable senior housing units, including 64 replacement units and 79 new units. This project will include 15 units set aside for formerly homeless households at the Boston Housing Authority’s J.J. Carroll Apartments at 130 Chestnut Hill Avenue being redeveloped by 2Life Communities

CHINATOWN$7,000,000 to the Parcel P-12C development on 290 Tremont Street, to fund 85 affordable rental units out of a total of 168 units in the development. In total, 105 units will be rentals and 63 will be homeownership units, including 11 units set aside for formerly homeless individuals. This transformational project is anticipated to include a new library branch, a cafe and hotel, pedestrian plaza, and expanded parking. The units will be part of a proposed mixed-use affordable housing project on a Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) owned parking lot being developed by Asian CDC and Millennium Partners. DORCHESTER/ROXBURY$2,600,000 to 9 Leyland Street, a projectrevitalizing a vacant lot by building 43 affordable senior-housing units, including five units set aside for formerly homeless individuals. The building will incorporate passive house design standards for sustainability and is being developed byDorchester Bay EDC.EAST BOSTON$2,500,000 for The Aileron at 131 and 141-151 Condor Street. The rental phase of a development combining rental and homeownership units with a special focus on certified artist housing and workspace. It will create 24 affordable rental units, including four units set aside for formerly homeless individuals and is being developed by Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Inc. (NOAH).HYDE PARK$2,000,000 to the former Barton Rogers School, an adaptive reuse of a historic schoolhouse in the center of Hyde Park that will create 74 much-needed income-restricted senior housing units. The project will be Boston’s first designated LGBTQ-supported housing development for seniors being developed by the Pennrose Development.
$236,000 for 23-25 Rosebury Road, supporting two new affordable homeownership units being developed by Norfolk Design & Construction.JAMAICA PLAIN$4,772,000 for 1599 Columbus Avenue, an affordable project with 65 total rental units including seven units set aside for formerly homeless individuals in Jackson Square, targeting economically vulnerable households and revitalizing several vacant and distressed lots being developed by Urban Edge Housing Corporation.
$9,000,000 for 3368 Washington Street, supporting 202 units of what will be Boston’s largest integrated permanent supportive housing project for homeless individuals and families. The project will include 140 units for chronically homeless individuals. It will also include an additional 62 income-restricted units for affordable units for low- and moderate-income families. The project is being developed by the Pine Street Inn and the Community BuildersLOWER ROXBURY $2,550,000 for Newcastle/Saranac Apartments at 599 & 607-627 Columbus Avenue. This funding will assist in finalizing the preservation, recapitalization, and stabilization of 97 apartments, including 10 units set aside for formerly homeless individuals. Newcastle Saranac’s long-term affordability restrictions were set to expire as the former owners paid off the mortgage they’d received using the MassHousing 13A program. This project being managed by Fenway Community Development Corporation & Schochet CompaniesMATTAPAN$1,860,000 to 150 River Street for new construction of 30 units of affordable senior housing with six units set aside for formerly homeless individuals. Being developed by the Planning Office for Urban Affairs & Caribbean Integration Community Development on a vacant city-owned site.
ROSLINDALE$2,750,000 for Four Oaks to develop 22 units of affordable supportive housing for youth aging out of foster care. The building will also include a new headquarters for The Home for Little Wanderers and clinical space for The Dimock Center, being developed by The Home for Little Wanderers and Alinea Capital Partners.ROXBURY$4,880,000 for 2147 Washington Street in Nubian Square to create 74 units of mixed-use rental and ownership, including 8 units set aside for formerly homeless individuals. This development will include artist housing and studio space, public open space, and a new Haley House Cafe location on Washington Street.$1,975,000 to fund 20 new affordable units for first-time homebuyers at 75-81 Dudley Street. The development will include 20 new income-restricted homeownership units in Nubian Square with ground-floor commercial space for a small businesses developed by the Madison Park Community Development Corporation
$1,750,000 or 40-50 Warren Street, a mixed-use project with 25 units of affordable housing, including three units set aside for formerly homeless individuals and affordable retail and coworking space for Roxbury-based small businesses being developed by the New Urban Collaborative.
$4,350,000 to the Fountain Hill development at 25 Fountain Street and 50 Regent Street, creating a blend of 26 affordable homeownership units of varying sizes located on a long-vacant lot in the heart of Roxbury in the Tommy’s Rock neighborhood. Being developed by Oxbow Urban.$3,505,000 for Dudley Crossing at 375-397 Dudley Street & 204-210 Hampden Street. This development will be a combination of rehab and new construction to preserve historic buildings in Nubian Square while deepening affordability for its residents with 47 income-restricted rental units and five units set aside for formerly homeless individuals being developed by Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation$800,000 for E+Highland at 273-287 Highland Street which is a transformative, energy positive project leveraging parcels of city-owned land including 23 mixed-income rental units. Of these, 10 units will be affordable to low-income households, including three units set aside for formerly homeless individuals, and five units will be set aside for moderate-income households between Highland Park and Jackson Square neighborhood being developed by Rees-Larkin DevelopmentWEST ROXBURY$3,700,000 to B’nai B’rith Housing for the Residences off Baker development, which will contribute to the creation of 45 new affordable rental units, including eight units set aside for formerly homeless individuals and families.