Posted on May 23, 2012
NORTH ANDOVER,May 23, 2012--- Ever since December 2011, life has been hard for Kelly Mauro and her family. That's when her husband Josh was paralyzed in a one-car crash and she was suddenly faced with taking care of him and their seven-year-old son Tristan.
So it was understandable that on May 23, 2012, in front of a crowd of local leaders at the grand opening of Stevens Corner, Mauro said she was grateful to be living in a handicapped accessible three-bedroom rental home near her son's elementary school. "This is the first good thing that has happened to our family in months," she said.
Mauro's happiness was made possible due to a combination of private and public support for Stevens Corner, perhaps none more crucial than the Town of North Andover, which OK'd the new development and then backed it with $1.3 million in Community Preservation Act funds.
"The town has been great and has set a high standard for community support," said Phil Giffee, executive director of Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), the nonprofit that developed Stevens Corner.
Stevens Corner was developed with a Ch. 40B comprehensive permitgranted by the town. The $10.1 million development involvedrehabilitating the former Greenery Extended Care facility (vacant since 2003) into 42 rental apartments all affordable to families below 60 percent of area median income, which in North Andover is $50,800 for a family of four. Stevens Corner consists of five one-bedroom, 32 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom apartments. Two of the apartments are handicapped accessible and the development features 90 parking spaces and 700 square feet of community space.
Speaking at the grand opening, State Representative David Torissi said Stevens Corner is a "great asset" to the town and praised town meeting voters for supporting it, especially resident Jim Lafond, who lives near Stevens Corner. "Every once in awhile when you're in public service, you witness somebody who gets up and speaks with great clarity and purpose," recalled Torissi. "I knew (Stevens Corner) would happen when Jim Lafond got up at town meeting and spoke in support of this project."
Giffee, who served as master of ceremonies, thanked many local people and boards for their support of Stevens Corner, including Susan Dennett and George Koelher of the North Andover Housing Partnership, Ellen McIntyre, Richard Byers and Al Manziof the Zoning Board of Appeals, Tracy Watson and Dick Vallaincourt of the board of selectmen, Assistant Town Manager Ray Santilli, Town Clerk Joyce Bradshaw, and Building Inspector Gerry Brown.
MHP is supporting Stevens Corner with a $1.4 million long-term permanent financing loan commitment from its bank-funded loan pool. In addition, NOAH is utilizing MHP's new Housing Reserve Assurance Program, whichallows nonprofit tax credit developers to payinto a credit facility, thus reducing the need to carry large cash-funded operating reserves by about 75 percent.
The bulk of the financing for this project is being provided through federal and state low-income housing tax credits awarded by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and syndicated by The Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation to a pool of investors that included State Street Bank, TD BankNorth and Bank of America. DHCD also provided support through its Housing Stabilization Fund and Community Based Housing Program, which supports the creation of handicapped accessible units. Additional financial support is being provided by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, TD Bank, The Life Initiative, Claremont Properties, the state's Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which is administered by MassHousing. Federal HOME funds were provided through the Town of Andover and the North Shore Consortium.
MHP is able to provide its $1.4 million in long-term private financing due to 1990 law that requires companies that purchase Massachusetts banks to make bank loan funds available to MHP. Since then, MHP's loan pool has grown to over $1.1 billion and it has provided over $816 million in loans and commitments for the financing of over 18,000 rental units all across the Commonwealth. Whenever possible, MHP finances projects that include units for lower and middle-income households and three-bedroom units that serve families. For more information about MHP and this project, contact Senior Loan Officer Amanda Roe at 617-330-9944 x273 or aroe@mhp.net.