Brockton marks opening of downtown apartments near train

BROCKTON, June 19, 2014 --- There were plenty of speakers on hand to point out the significance of Station Lofts but the strongest statement was made by a commuter train that roared by during grand opening ceremonies.

The passing train spoke volumes about the potential for this city's downtown to be revitalized with housing, a process that began when the city created a special downtown overlay district and continued this month with the grand opening of Station Lofts.

"Station Lofts is the epitome of smart growth and it's a model we'd like to replicate in other cities around the Commonwealth," said the Aaron Gornstein, the Patrick Administration's Undersecretary for Housing, at opening ceremonies on June 19. "This is an example of what can happen when the public sector takes a chance and makes a targeted public investment which then leverages private investment that spurs economic investment in the neighborhood."

Developed by Captstone Communities, Station Lofts involved the adaptive reuse of an old mill into 25 mixed-income rental apartments - 11 market rate apartments, 11 at 60 percent of median and three at 30 percent of median. Completed last fall, 23 of the 25 units were leased by Thanksgiving, according to Jason Korb, principal of Capstone Communities. Station Lofts is just steps from the city's downtown commuter rail station.

"Station Lofts has been a labor of love," said Korb. "I've met countless supporters in this City of Champions. Contrary to its reputation, I found out this is a business friendly city. The people here really care about this city."

Station Lofts was financed with federal low-income tax credits awarded by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as federal and state historic tax credits. The Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. invested in both the federal low-income and historic tax credits. Additional state funding came from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Housing Stabilization Fund and the Commercial Area Transit Node Housing Program. Property Casualty Initiative provided construction financing.

MassDevelopment supported the project with pre-development funding and through its Brownfields Fund. In addition to creating the overalay zoning district to pave the way for this and other downtown projects, the City of Brockton chipped in with $200,000 in federal HOME funds. "This is the type of development the city needs to bring the downtown back to life," said Brockton Mayor William Carpenter.

MHP used its bank-funded loan pool to provide a long-term loan of $750,000. This is the sixth time MHP has used its private funds to support affordable rental development in Brockton. All told, MHP has provided over $12 million in permanent loans and commitments for the financing of 340 units of rental housing, 250 of the units affordable. In addtion, MHP's SoftSecond Loan Program - now called ONE Mortgage - has helped 296 low- and moderate-income households buy their first home and has provided over $48 million in private mortgage financing.

For more information about this development and MHP's financing programs, contact Senior Loan Officer Nancy McCafferty at nmccafferty@mhp.net.