Posted on December 13, 2018
EASTHAM --- Perhaps no affordable housing ceremony in recent memory has illustrated the increasing impact of town support better than the ground breaking for the Village at Nauset Green on Friday, Dec. 7.
That’s because in addition to federal, state, MHP and private bank financing, Eastham put up the land and over $1 million in local funds while Orleans and Wellfleet also provided funding to help Nauset Green offer 65 affordable apartments to year-round Cape workers at a wide range of incomes.
“Even though this is in Eastham, this is truly a regional resource that has received great local support,” said Charlie Adams, regional vice-president for Pennrose Company, the Philadelphia-based company that is doing its first development in Massachusetts.
To be built on an 11-acre town-owned site just off Route 6 on the road to Nauset Light Beach, Nauset Green will feature 65 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that will be spread out in 18 buildings in a cluster-style village design that will feature two large common greens.
Of the 65 apartments, 11 will serve extremely low-income individuals and families earning up to 30 percent of area median income (AMI). Thirty-nine apartments will serve individuals and families up to 60 percent of AMI. The remaining 15 apartments will be “workforce” apartments, with rents set at 90 percent of AMI. The development will contain 27 one-, 31 two- and seven three-bedroom apartments.
“You’ve heard a lot about all the funders who made this possible but this is first and foremost about people,” said Carolyn McPherson, chair of the Eastham Affordable Housing Trust. “If you don’t have housing, then you don’t have people and then you don’t have jobs. And our seniors need housing too.”
The Town of Eastham reflected McPherson’s passion for the development. In addition to providing the land to Pennrose through a 99-year ground lease, Eastham put in $1.45 million in local funds from three sources – the Community Preservation Act (CPA), its affordable housing trust fund and town general funds. Orleans and Wellfleet contributed $100,000 each in CPA funds.
“This shows that regionalism can make a difference,” said Alan McClennen, chair of the Orleans Community Preservation Committee.
The bulk of the financing was provided by the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) through the award of federal and state low-income housing tax credits. DHCD also provided an additional $2.5 million in subsidy funds and 11 project-based vouchers, including three from the Section 811 federal supportive housing program for people with disabilities. Additional state support came from MassHousing, which provided $1.5 million from its Workforce Housing Program. Bank of America provided a $10.2 million construction loan.
MHP is providing a $4.4 million 40-year permanent loan commitment from its Federal Housing Administration Treasury Risk Share Program. This program provides quick reliable execution with competitive interest rates and flexible underwriting terms. Loans can range from $1 million to $40 million with 35- to 40-year amortizations. Early rate locks are available up to two years prior to closing.
At the groundbreaking, MHP’s Director of Lending David Rockwell said MHP’s financing commitment for Nauset Green has raised MHP’s lending totals on the Cape to over $45 million for the financing of 36 projects and over 900 apartments, most of them affordable. He saved his praise for the three local communities that backed the project. “We’ve done a lot of loans in Massachusetts where one town has put in CPA funds but never three!”
For more information about this development and MHP's financing options, contact MHP's David Rockwell at drockwell@mhp.net or Nancy McCafferty at nmccafferty@mhp.net.