Posted on January 28, 2008
BOSTON --- With technical support and a long-term first mortgage commitment of $736,000, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) is helping Viet-AID, Inc. build 43 affordable apartments at 1460 Dorchester Ave. in Boston.
The 1460 House will be Viet-AID’s largest development effort to date. Two existing commercial properties will be demolished and reconstructed into one four-story building, which will include 31 studios and 12 one-bedroom apartments. The ground floor will hold common space as well as five commercial spaces, which will be sold individually to a consortium of local businesses.
Nine of the units will be affordable to households earning 30 percent of area median income (AMI) and 25 units will be affordable at 60 percent AMI. In addition, eight of the units will be reserved for Department of Mental Health clients.
MHP also provided Viet-AID with support through a three-year capacity grant, which allowed Viet-AID to expand its staff and focus its resources on increasing the amount of affordable housing produced.
The 1460 House effort has also benefitted from strong local support, including over $1.5 million in HOME funds from the City of Boston and the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
Other sources of funding include over $1 million in Transit Oriented Development (TOD) funds awarded because of its proximity to transit services.
This isn’t the first time that MHP has worked with Viet-AID to create affordable housing in Boston. In 2002, MHP provided $207,874 to help finance six affordable units at 17-23 Faulkner Street, also located in Fields Corner in Dorchester.
Altogether in 2007, MHP committed nearly $8 million to help create 206 affordable housing units throughout Boston.