Governor Patrick Targets $108 Million To Boost Affordable Rental Housing
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“It is important that we use every resource available to build more rental housing that is affordable to wage earners at all income levels and help create jobs,” said Governor Patrick.
Governor Patrick made the announcement in Chelsea on Spencer Avenue where the Spencer Row development will receive tax credits and $1.75 million in various program funds to produce 32 new affordable apartments.
The $108 million investment will yield 2,551 rental apartments – 2,255 of which will be affordable for low- and moderate-income wage earners. Roughly 350 units will be reserved in various projects for low-income families transitioning from homelessness.
Each project will utilize green building technology, including energy saving appliances, plumbing fixtures, heating systems, windows and insulation to make these new developments energy efficient.
The Patrick Administration’s commitment includes $17.9 million in federal tax credits and $18.9 million in state tax credits, which will be sold to syndicators to leverage an estimated $200 million in private investment. Due to current market conditions, developers will have until the end of the year to find tax credit investors for their projects.
Another $71.2 million will be issued from seven state bond-funded affordable housing programs as well as the federal HOME program. The state Department of Housing and Community Development administers the funding to assist developers who produce housing for income-eligible seniors, families, individuals and special needs residents across the state.
Project funding will support 39 developments in the following communities: Athol, Boston (10 projects), Billerica, Cambridge, Greenfield, Harwich, Lawrence (2 projects), Longmeadow, Lowell (3 projects), Marshfield, Northampton, Somerville, Townsend, Tyngsboro, Wareham (2 projects), Chelsea (2 projects), Fall River, Gloucester, Leominster, New Bedford, North Andover, Salem, Springfield, Weymouth and Worcester. See detailed list attached.
Investments in affordable housing are critical components of Governor Patrick’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan, which combines state, federal and, where possible, private efforts to provide immediate and long-term relief and position the Commonwealth for recovery in the following ways:
* Deliver immediate relief by investing in the road, bridge and rail projects that put people to work today and providing safety net services that sustain people who are especially vulnerable during an economic crisis;
* Build a better tomorrow through education and infrastructure investments that strengthen our economic competitiveness, prepare workers for the jobs of the future and support clean energy, broadband and technology projects that cut costs while growing the economy; and
* Reform state government by eliminating the pension and ethics loopholes that discredit the work of government and revitalize the transportation networks that have suffered from decades of neglect and inaction.
To learn more, go to www.mass.gov/recovery.
