Posted on August 4, 2017
BOSTON --- While the big story in Greater Boston is the need for more new housing, a quieter story is the affordable apartments that are being refinanced so they can be maintained and rented affordably for years to come.
Also: MHP financing helps support +400 new units in Hub
In Fiscal Year 2017, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) used its private funds and other capital sources to support the preservation of several affordable housing developments in the City of Boston and nearby communities, many of them in red-hot real estate neighborhoods experiencing rising prices, gentrification or both. The list of commitments and closings includes:
Mission Hill – MHP provided the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard Association Inc. (RTH) with over $7 million in financing to preserve 81 affordable apartments spread across 17 historic buildings in the popular Mission Hill neighborhood. RTH’s ownership of these homes dates back to 1982, when it stepped in and negotiated with Harvard University to preserve these homes and stop a plan that called for the razing of these buildings to make way for new medical facilities. MHP’s financing will help RTH keep these apartments affordable for years to come.
Lower Roxbury Apartments – MHP has committed $6.3 million in fixed-rate long-term financing (40 years) to the Commonwealth Land Trust so it can refinance, make repairs and keep affordable 70 apartments that provide stable homes and on-site case management services to the formerly homeless and many of Boston's most vulnerable citizens. These homes are spread across nine historic, brick walk-up buildings in the Roxbury/South End neighborhood near the Ruggles MBTA station and Northeastern University. The loan also included the refinancing of four commercial storefronts.
Fenway Views – In the fast-changing, construction-cranes-everywhere neighborhood around Fenway Park, MHP provided the Fenway Community Development Corp. $1.5 million in permanent financing to preserve the affordability and fund repairs of 22 rental apartments within a seven-story 55-unit condominium at the corner of Peterborough and Kilmarnock streets.
Caritas Communities – MHP provided Caritas with a $4.4 million, 40-year fixed-rate loan so it could refinance 12 properties and 263 apartments for the very low-income and formerly homeless. The financing ensured that Caritas can make necessary repairs and keep rents low in six of its Boston properties, plus properties in Arlington, Braintree, Everett and Medford.
Auburn Court, Cambridge – Across the river, MHP provided Homeowners Rehab Inc. a $10 million, 40-year fixed-rate loan so it could refinance 60 of the 137 mixed-income apartments at Auburn Park Apartments, which is located within a 26-acre, MIT-owned master plan site between Central Square and MHP.
MHP uses private bank funds and other capital sources to provide long-term financing for the creation and preservation of affordable rental housing. Statewide in FY 2017, MHP provided over $90 million in commitments for the financing 1,600 apartments, over 1,000 of them affordable. In addition, MHP closed over $106 million in loans for the financing or refinancing of over 1,800 apartments.
For more details, check out MHP’s Multifamily Financing Interest Rate Tracker, which has terms and interest rates updated weekly for Treasury Risk Share, Fannie Mae Fixed, Fannie Mae Variable, FHA MAP and MHP Private Bank Funds.
For more information, contact Director of Lending David Rockwell at drockwell@mhp.net or 857-317-8550 or Senior Relationship Manager Nancy McCafferty at nmccafferty@mhp.net or 857-317-8556.
More FY17 reviews
Boston - MHP finances +400 new units
Metro Boston - New apts in Brookline, Revere, Somerville ...
Suburbs - 693 apartments financed, many through 40B
SE Mass/Cape - 9 developments, 469 apartments financed
Central Mass. - 6 developments, $27.5M for the financing of 368 apartments
Springfield: Featuring scattered site financings to keep neighborhoods strong
WMass: Supporting new homes for rural seniors & restoration of historic buildings