75 units in Sharon, 200 in Lynnfield, 56 in Tewksbury
Posted on July 15, 2008
BOSTON --- With loan commitments totaling over $34 million, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) is helping three suburban communities add 331 units of rental housing.
In Sharon, MHP has committed $11.9 million in permanent first- mortgage financing to help Beacon Communities rehabilitate the Wilber School property into 75 units of rental housing, 31 to be constructed within the existing building and 44 units in a new building on the site.
The project is a 'friendly 40B', meaning that developers have local support and are using the state's comprehensive permit by-law to build more affordable units at a higher density than is allowed under normal zoning regulations. Located at 75 South Main Street in Sharon's downtown business district, the three-acre site is close to Interstates 495 and 95, as well as Route 1 and a commuter rail station.
The Wilber School project will include 17 one-bedroom units and 14 two-bedroom units in the rehabbed school, while the new structure will add 12 one-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom units. Fifteen of the apartments will be affordable to residents earning up to 50 percent of AMI, which in Sharon is $34,320 for a household of two.
In Lynnfield, MHP committed a first mortgage loan of $15 million to developer Corcoran & Co. for the creation of 200 units in three buildings at 385 Broadway.
Known as Lynnfield Commons, the 40B effort sits on 13.6 acres of land located next to the Lynn Woods Reservation and is accessible from U.S. Route 1. Fifty units, including 25 with one bedroom each and 25 with two bedrooms will be affordable to residents earning up to 70 percent of AMI, or $48,048 for a household of two.
In Tewksbury, MHP has committed $7.5 million in first mortgage financing to help Omni Development, LLC create 56 units at 1535 Main Street. The project is part of a larger retail and service complex called Village Green and will include 12 one-bedroom units and 44 two-bedroom units.
The apartments at Village Green were first financed as homeownership units, but the town has approved the developers' request to convert the condominiums into rental housing. Twelve of the apartments will be affordable to residents earning up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI), which in Tewksbury is $33,920 for a household of two.