Posted on July 19, 2011
DORCHESTER, July 19, 2011 --- City and state leaders gathered at the 1460 House on Dorchester Avenue earlier this week to celebrate the impact that the four-story building has had on Fields Corner since it opened two years ago.
Developed by the nonprofit Vietnam American Initiative for Development (Viet-AID) thanks in part to $736,000 in private financing from MHP, 1460 House features five first-floor commercial condominium spaces that are all occupied and 43 studio and one-bedroom apartments on the second, third and fourth floors.
The rental homes are all affordable to households at or below 60 percent of area median income (AMI), with 20 percent of the units set aside for households at 30 percent of AMI and 20 percent set aside for residents from the Department of Mental Health.The development is located right across the street from the Fields Corner transit station and it's about a 15-minute train ride to downtown Boston. The street-level business condominiums house the development's management office, a dentist's office, an electronics store, a convenience store and a cafe.
"This is another great renovation on Dorchester Avenue and it reflects my goals of promoting transit-oriented development and green buildings," said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, referring to the city's ongoing efforts to revitalize properties and promote energy- and transit-efficient development all along Dorchester Avenue.
Formerly the site of an office building and a bar named Mickey's Place, Viet-AID bought both buildings in 2006 from longtime property owner Mickey Dwyer, a South Boston native and former middleweight boxer. The $12.5 million development was financed mostly through federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) awarded by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Additional financing was provided by Citizen's Bank, the Enterprise Foundation, the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) and DHCD.
"Viet-AID should be praised for looking at what its community needs and doing what's needed to make it happen," said Tina Brooks, the Patrick Administration's undersecretary for housing at the July 18 celebration. "They have taken advantage of the transit station across the street by promoting housing and small businesses, which is a key to growing jobs."
The City of Boston contributed almost $2 million from its federal HOME funds and Neighborhood Housing Trust. The development also received $500,000 as one of the first Boston projects funded under the City's Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP). The project was built to be LEED Silver certifiable and Energy Star compliant, incorporating a number of sustainable and green features. The development has been recognized nationally for its energy efficiencies.
"When I was thinking about what to say at this event, I looked at Mayor Menino's biography and saw that one of his goals is to build vibrant cities," Viet-AID's executive director Nam Pham told the audience, which included young people who are participating in summer programs at Viet-AID's nearby community center. "I realized that the mayor's goals and our goals are the same. Viet-AID wants the same thing and 1460 House is a snapshot of what we have been trying to do for the 17 years we have been working in Fields Corner."
This is third time that MHP has used its bank-funded loan pool to provide permanent financing to help Viet-AID increase the supply of affordable housing in the Fields Corner neighborhood of Dorchester. In 2000, MHP committed $189,000 in first-mortgage financing and a $570,000 deferred payment second mortgage to support the construction of six new affordable units on Faulkner Street, also within steps of the Fields Corner transit station. More recently, MHP has committed $647,000 in first-mortgage financing and a $350,000 Home Funders second mortgage to support Bloomfield Gardens, a new 27-unit affordable rental development currently in construction.
All told in Boston, MHP has now provided over $190 million in first mortgage loans and over $9 million in second mortgage loans for the financing of 120 rental housing developments totaling over 4,900 units of rental housing. Statewide, MHP has used its $1.1 billion bank-funded loan pool to provide over $697 million in loans and commitments for the financing of over 17,000 rental units.For more information about 1460 House and MHP financing programs, contact Senior Loan Officer Megan Mulcahy at 617-330-9944 x269.