88-unit rehab is latest effort in this Springfield neighborhood
Posted on March 14, 2007
MHP has committed the loan to Better Homes, Inc., which will restore six garden-style apartment buildings into 15 two-bedroom, 70 three-bedroom, and three four-bedroom units. All units will be affordable to families earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, which in Springfield is $37,740 for a family of four.
The effort, known as Liberty Hill Townhouses, is located at 5 Nursery Street in the Lower Liberty Heights neighborhood of Springfield. This is the third housing initiative that has resulted from this long-term partnership to revitalize the Lower Liberty Hill section of Springfield.
Through this partnership, MHP has helped create or restore 179 affordable homes in Lower Liberty. Previously, MHP provided technical assistance that led to the rehabilitation of 55 blighted housing units on Belle Street. MHP also provided $388,000 in a permanent first-mortgage loan to construct 36 new units on nearby Franklin Street, located across the street from a neighborhood park.
The City of Springfield has been a strong proponent of the redevelopment effort, providing $275,000 in HOME funds for the Liberty Hill Townhouses. The state is also providing $550,000 in HOME funds as well as nearly $10 million through the sale of low-income housing tax credits.
The history of the revitalization effort in this neighborhood dates back to the early 1990s when it was estimated that 86 percent of the units were abandoned or uninhabitable. At this point, the city identified the area for revitalization and MHP’s Community Housing Initiatives group funded a neighborhood planner and organizer who focused on identifying problem properties, reducing crime through community policing and convincing residents to stay in the neighborhood and help rebuild it. As attention became focused on distressed properties, MHP paid for an architect to develop alternative layouts that would make the neighborhood attractive again.
Liberty Hill is the latest example of MHP’s ability to spark neighborhood revitalization at the grass-roots level, and then support it over the long haul with long-term fixed rate financing, not just in Liberty Hill but throughout Springfield. To date, MHP has provided over $14 million in loans and commitments for 13 properties and the financing of 1,123 affordable units in Springfield.