Posted on January 30, 2009
BOSTON --- The Boston Globe recently featured two housing efforts that received financing assistance from MHP. Click here to read the story.
Lithgow Apartments in Codman Square and Capen Court in Somerville were financed through MHP's Massachusetts Tax-exempt Credit for Housing Program (MATCH), which it offers in partnership with MassDevelopment. MATCH combines MassDevelopment's ability to issue bonds with MHP's ability to use its bank-funded loan pool to provide crucial letters of credit, giving the bonds a AAA rating thus enabling borrowers to get financing at the lowest-possible interest rate. Since its inception, MATCH has provided over $42 million in loans and commitments for the financing of almost 800 units of rental housing.
In the case of Lithgow Apartments, the bonds enabled Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corp. to avoid costs usually associated with a bond transaction and get the necessary financing to preserve affordability, make repairs and to make Lithgow, "once again one of the shining jewels of Codman Square," said CSNDC director Gail Latimore.
Capen Court in Somerville is one of the first times that primate funds have been used to rehabilitate state public housing. With the help of bond financing, The Somerville Housing Authority plans to demolish 64 units and build 95 new units at the complex.
"We are pleased to once again help make low-cost, tax-exempt bond financing available for affordable housing developers," said Mark Curtiss, MHP's Managing Director. "The MATCH program is proving to be a flexible financing program, stabilizing one of the most visible apartment buildings in Codman Square while also providing funds to improve state public housing in Somerville."
Click here for more information about MHP and MassDevelopment's MATCH program.