Another milestone for Chelsea's Box District neighborhood

CHELSEA, May 10, 2013 --- Every time the new Box District neighborhood marks another milestone, Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash tells the story about when he was a boy growing up in the city and his mother wouldn't let him play there because of all the trash and rundown factory buildings.

Ash told his story again at the grand opening of the Highland Terrace Apartments on May 10 but this time the scene was different. Behind the usual audience of local leaders and housing professionals were 30 children playing in the new playground next to Highland Terrace.

The sounds of children playing while public officials were speaking drove home the message of how far this neighborhood has come. Highland Terrace, which features 32 affordable rental apartments, is one of the last of six industrial sites to be developed in this burgeoning neighborhood two blocks from city hall and next to a hoped-for extension of the MBTA Silver Line.

"That's what this is all about, the kids," said U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano. "That's why everybody who is responsible for helping make this happen is here today. It's about making good homes and good neighborhoods for these kids."

With the completion of Highland Terrace, 164 of the 260 homes planned for this neighborhood have been built. The neighborhood features a mix of affordable rental homes, market-rate rental homes and condominiums developed by either the for-profit Mitchell Properties or The Neighborhood Developers (TND), a Chelsea-based nonprofit.

The final phase --- Chelsea Flats --- will feature 96 units of mixed-income rental apartments. This phase is being built by Mitchell Properties and a groundbreaking for this development was held at the conclusion of the Highland Terrace grand opening.

"The vision that the City of Chelsea and The Neighborhood Developers had for this area and how they worked together to achieve it should not be taken lightly," said Bart Mitchell of Mitchell Properties. "The neighborhood they have created and the homes that have been built will be here for 100 to 200 years."

It took 'vision, determination and partnership'

A total of $72 million in public and private investments has gone into transforming this industrial area. The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) has supported this revitalization every step of the way. Using its $1.1 billion bank-funded loan pool, MHP provided a $1.1 million permanent loan for TND's 41-unit Janus Highlands affordable rental development (opened in 2007), a $5 million loan to Mitchell Properties for the 53-unit, mixed-income Atlas Lofts (opened in 2010) and a $1.4 million loan commitment for Highland Terrace, which was developed by TND.

"Congratulations to Ann Houston and The Neighborhood Developers, Mitchell Properties, the City of Chelsea and everyone else involved in creating this wonderful new neighborhood," said Judy Jacobson, MHP's Deputy Director. "Money matters but this is about so much more than money. This is about vision and determination and partnership. This is about political will and risk-taking and execution. These are the essential ingredients. We work all over the state and we don't see this kind of comprehensive effort driven by these essential ingredients all that often. This is special. And all of you, here in Chelsea, should be proud."

Mitchell and TND Executive Director Ann Houston co-hosted the grand opening and ground breaking. Public officials who spoke at the event included Capuano, Ash, State Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty and Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo.

Funders who spoke or were recognized included Aaron Gornstein, the state's undersecretary for housing, Elizabeth Gruber of Bank of America, Mike Gondek of the Life Initiative, Deborah Boatright of NeighborWorks America, Tom Gleason of MassHousing, Marty Jones of MassDevelopment and Rufus Phillips of the Property and Casualty Initiative.

For more information about MHP's role in Chelsea and its financing programs, contact MHP Senior Loan Officer Megan Mulcahy at 617-330-9944 x269.