Posted on November 8, 2002
CHESTERFIELD --- MHP’s commitment to financing smaller rental properties was illustrated recently when local and state officials gathered in Chesterfield (pop. 1201) to dedicate the renovation of the local hotel, the only multi-family building in town.
The Hilltown Community Development Corporation redeveloped the rambling, three-story home with its wraparound porch into seven apartments, four of them affordable.
MHP is providing a total of $220,000 in long-term financing. The state Department of Housing and Community Development enabled the Hilltown CDC to buy and renovate the home with a $452,000 grant through its Housing Development Support Program. Locally, the Florence Savings Bank provided construction financing.
“If you read the papers around Boston, you’d think the only way to get out of the housing crisis is by producing new housing,” said Clark Ziegler, executive director of MHP. “But we also need to maintain and keep the key buildings in communities in decent shape. When you come out here, you can see that this is a building that’s a mainstay of the community and you realize that there’s more than one way to create affordable housing.”
Chesterfield, located just west of Amherst, was established in 1739 and the site was initially granted to King Philip and King William’s war veterans. The town center, at the crest of a hill on what is now Rte. 143, was not settled until the Revolutionary War.
In its early days, the town supported a large agricultural economy, with wool from sheep its major product. Sawmills and tanneries emerged in the 19th century and then faded away. The town today is described as having a re-emerging agricultural economy along with growing business based on summer tourism.
Nestled in the center of town is the Chesterfield Hotel, built in 1904. It was for years a privately owned apartment in need of repair. The Hilltown CDC, which services 12 towns in the region, saw the property as a way to provide some affordable housing. Rents for the one and two-bedroom units range between $500 and $725. Three of the units are set aside for people earning 50 percent of median income and one is targeted to someone earning 80 percent of median income.
“It’s so rare for a small rural town community the size of Chesterfield to pursue a multi-family affordable housing such as this,” said Rep. Stephen P. Kulik, D-Worthington. “Affordable housing is not just an urban issue. “Even small communities like this can step up to the plate and do something that is a real worthy social call.”
Hilltown CDC Director Don Bianchi thanked the state for helping Hilltown CDC provide affordable housing for the community. “You’ve recognized what this means to our community,” he said.
For more information about MHP’s rental financing programs, call 1-877-MHP-FUND.