Posted on May 13, 2005
The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) is committing $8.3 million in first-mortgage financing and $1.5 million in interest-free second-mortgage subsidy to help the non-profit Falmouth Housing Corporation (FHC) create 90 new rental units.
FHC is building the housing on three sites – its human services and residential campus on Gifford Street, and on two former commercial sites. When complete, 72 of the 90 units will be affordable.
FHC has nearly completed the construction of eight affordable rental units for previously homeless individuals on Gifford Street. This site already includes the Falmouth Service Center, a food pantry and 42 affordable units, which MHP refinanced as part of this effort. MHP is also providing a $450,000 interest-free 20-year loan.
FHC built this part of the project – called Bridgeport - in collaboration with the Cape Cod Council of Churches, which contributed over $100,000 and will provide volunteer mentors to help tenants make the transition from homelessness.
“We’d like to see people from Falmouth or another part of the Upper Cape in there,” said Robert H. Murray, president of FHC. “We want them to be near their family and friends, and we think this could help build a support network in the area.”
At 704 Main St., FHC is partnering with Affirmative Investments, a Boston-based development and consulting firm, to construct 58 units of one and two-bedroom rental housing, and 10,000 square feet of commercial space. Forty-four of the units will be permanently financed through the sale of federal low-income housing tax credits , awarded by the state Department of Housing and Community Development. MHP is providing an additional permanent loan of $2.35 million for the tax-credit portion of the project.
MHP is also providing permanent financing for the remaining 14 non-tax credit units at 704 Main St. with a long-term loan that is part of the Bridgeport -Gifford Street financing. It is also providing a $300,000 zero-percent interest second-mortgage. The Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank is the construction lender.
When complete, 48 of the units will be affordable, 44 to households making no more than 60 percent of the region’s median income, which is $39,820 for a household of four. Four units will be affordable to households making less than 70 percent of median income.
For Edgerton Drive, MHP is providing a $2.17 million first mortgage and a $750,000 zero-percent second mortgage. Sixteen of the 24 one and two-bedroom apartments will be affordable to households making less than 80 percent of median income.
All three efforts also received funding from the state’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and from Barnstable County federal HOME funds.
“Bob Murray and the Falmouth Housing Corporation have shown the ability to build housing that serves a variety of incomes,” said Clark Ziegler, MHP’s executive director. “They have a vision of how to serve the community and the entrepreneurial ability to create projects that attract a wide network of support. This enables them to get things done quickly and at a reasonable cost.”
About MHP: MHP is a quasi-public state agency that finances affordable rental housing with private bank funds, an outcome of a 1990 state law that requires banks that purchase other banks to make funds available to MHP. Bank transactions such as Bank of America’s purchase of Fleet Boston trigger the state statute that funds MHP. That acquisition resulted in a $406 million loan and an $18 million grant to MHP, pushing MHP’s total loan pool to over $1 billion. MHP is one of the state’s leading producers of affordable rental housing. Since 1990, MHP has provided over $370 million in loans for the financing of 11,000 units of rental housing. In addition to financing, MHP also helps cities and towns initiate and develop affordable housing. It also provides homeownership opportunities through the SoftSecond Loan Program, a mortgage program for low and moderate-income first-time homebuyers.
About Affirmative Investments: Boston-based Affirmative Investments (AI) is a development and consulting firm that specializes in promoting and preserving affordable housing, as well as construction management and historic preservation. Its clients include non-profit and for-profit housing developers, property management companies, assisted living developers, and social service organizations. Located in Boston, it has facilitated the financing of more than $500 million for affordable housing, representing over 4,500 units.