Posted on April 4, 2007
BOSTON --- The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) has committed over $1 million to help Lawrence Community Works rehabilitate 11 affordable apartments.
With a first mortgage loan of $256,700 and a deferred-payment second mortgage loan of $750,000, MHP is helping to restore four multi-family apartment buildings on Farnham Street in South Lawrence into 11 two-bedroom units.
The apartments will serve low-income families earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income, which in Lawrence is $46,920 for a family of four. In addition, three of the units will be affordable to residents who earn 50 percent of the median income.
Lawrence Community Works (LCW) is a non-profit community development corporation with a strong foundation in the city. For the past 20 years LCW has worked to revitalize the city’s downtown and historic mill districts through a block-by-block approach.
In addition to developing affordable housing, LCW mobilizes Lawrence residents to participate in community organizing and neighborhood planning efforts.
This is the first time that MHP teams with Lawrence Community Works to create housing, but MHP is no stranger to the city. In 2004, MHP held a community forum moderated by LCW’s executive director Bill Traynor. Over 30 city officials, including councilors and business leaders gathered to discuss the city’s housing needs. Click here to read more about MHP’s community meeting in Lawrence.
Altogether, MHP has committed $6 million to help create or rehabilitate over 250 affordable housing units in Lawrence.
About MHP: MHP is a quasi-public state agency that provides permanent financing for affordable rental housing, with loans typically ranging from $250,000 to $15 million. MHP uses private bank funds to finance affordable housing due to a 1990 state law that requires banks that purchase other banks to make funds available to MHP. Since 1990, MHP has provided over $525 million in permanent loans for the financing of 13,500 units of rental housing.
For more information, contact MHP's Callie Clark by email or at 617-330-9944 ext. 336.