Posted on August 4, 2011
WORCESTER, July 26, 2011 --- With an audience of neighborhood residents and new tenants looking on, speaker after speaker said teamwork wasthe big reason why a former lumberyard has been turned into 25 new affordable rental homes.
"There were so many partners involved to get this project past the goal line," said Worcester City Councilor Barbara Haller at the May 19 grand opening. "This project demonstrates that not only can we do better in improving our neighborhoods but that we must do better."
The collaboration between the South Worcester Neighborhood Improvement Corporation (SWNIC) and Randy Johnson and Gerald Horne of H&J StepOne Architects helped create a new building on the site of a former lumberyard at the corner of Southgate and Grand Street in South Worcester.
Feature article on Southgate Place
Southgate Place is part of an ongoing initiative to breathe life and commerce back into the once-vibrant South Worcester Industrial Park. The three-story building consists of 25 affordable rental units for residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The building features one, two, and three-bedroom apartments as well as a 50-space parking lot.
Along with affordable rent, tenants will have access to job training as well as GED and ESL classes arranged by the South Worcester Neighborhood Center. There is a community garden, a bocce ball court, an organized crime watch, and the development is a block away from the Cantebury Street Magnet School.
"The first thing that came to my mind when looking at this building today is 'wow, one building can really transform an entire neighborhood,' " said State Senator Michael Moore of his first look at the finished development.
MHP has committed $500,000 in permanent rental financing from its bank-funded loan pool. The majority of the financing came through federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) awarded by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and federal Tax Credit Exchange funds. DHCD also provide $1.8 million in funds from their HOME program, Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF), and Community Based Housing (CBH) program. Acquisition financing was provided by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. (CEDAC). Additional financing was provided by the City of Worcester and a brownfields grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"No one thought we'd be able to do this," said SWNIC Executive Director Ron Charette. "But look at what happens when people work together to make something good."
This is the first project on which MHP has partnered with SWNIC but only one of the many that MHP has financed in Worcester. Including Southgate Place, MHP has committed over $8.6 million in financing to help create 194 affordable rental units in 14 developments in Worcester.