Posted on June 14, 2004
In a shining example of a community development corporation’s ability to improve neighborhoods, Nuestra Comunidad recently celebrated the completion of the construction of 26 new affordable housing rental units in the Dorcester area of Boston.
MHP is providing $971,000 in long-term financing to the effort, which also includes a community center. The effort involves the new construction of 14 multi-family homes on previously vacant or blighted sites. All of the units will be affordable.
"Nuestra Comunidad is showing once again the ability to do the hard stuff," said Clark Ziegler, MHP's executive director. "No matter how strong the real estate market is, it's really hard to knit properties like this together. This is the type of work that really strengthens neighborhoods and it shows why we need strong community development corporations like Nuestra."
This is the fifth time MHP has helped Nuestra Comunidad boost the supply of affordable housing in the city. The five efforts total $7 million in loans for the financing of 135 units of affordable housing.
MHP is a statewide public/non-profit affordable organization that uses private bank funds to provide long-term loans for affordable rental housing. Bank transactions like the recent Bank of America-Fleet deal trigger the statute that funds MHP. MHP recently reached an agreement with Bank of America on a $406 million loan and an $18 million cash grant.
MHP focuses these funds on rental developments that are generally smaller in scale, supported by the communities and serve lower-income people. In Boston, MHP has made over $130 million in loans and has financed over 3,500 rental units.
For more information, contact MHP at (617) 330-9944 x227.