Posted on June 25, 2010
IPSWICH, June 25, 2009 ---The YMCA community and local leaders gathered yesterday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Power House Village affordable housing development, an effort made possible due in part to a long-term financing commitment from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP).
"It took a lot of courage and financial determination to get here," said Jack Meany, CEO of the YMCA of the North Shore of the permitting process, which took eight years and involved overcoming several legal challenges. "What we were fighting for are those 48 families who are going to live here. We felt it was something we should do because it's our mission."
MHP has committed $1.4 million in permanent rental financing to help the YMCA of the North Shore construct 48 units of affordable rental housing on County Road in Ipswich. The project will consist of 48 rental units in two, three-story buildings.
When complete, Powder House Village will feature 12 one-bedroom apartments, 30 two-bedroom apartments, and six three-bedroom apartments. All units will be affordable to residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income. The residential units will be located above a day care center, to be operated by the YMCA, and a branch of the Institution for Savings, a local bank that is also providing funding support for the project.
"This project is a home run for a lot of reasons," said Clark Ziegler, MHP's executive director. "With the construction industry largely at a standstill due to the economic downturn, building housing right now is a huge deal, not only because it provides affordable homes for working families but also because it provides jobs. And it's important when the developer, owner and manager of the housing is the North Shore YMCA, which has deep roots in the community."
MHP is a quasi-public state agency that provides permanent financing for affordable rental housing, with loans ranging from $250,000 to $15 million. MHP uses private bank funds to finance affordable housing due to a 1990 state law that requires banks that purchase other banks to make funds available to MHP. Since 1990, MHP has provided over $610 million in loans and commitments for the financing of over 15,000 rental units. For more information about this development, contact Deputy Director of Lending Dick Mason.