August 2025 Housing and Real Estate Updates
Housing and Real Estate Updates
by Don Bianchi, Director of Housing
State’s Rental Round Awards Will Create or Preserve 1,245 Homes
MACDC Members on Track to Develop 513 Rental Units
On July 31st, in Winchester, Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) Secretary Augustus, announced the award of $182 million in low-income housing tax credits and other subsidies to 21 affordable rental housing projects.
These 21 developments will create or preserve 1,245 rental homes across the Commonwealth. MACDC Member organizations received 10 of these awards, to create or preserve 513 apartments, 41% of the total apartments that will be developed. In the 2024 rental round awards announced last summer, 31% of the homes to be developed were by MACDC Member organizations- meaning MACDC members’ share of the awards increased by 10% from the prior year!
Of the 10 projects containing 513 rental units which will be created by MACDC Member organizations, 487 affordable units (95% of the total) will be affordable- and 188 of these affordable apartments will be affordable to extremely low-income (ELI) households- many of them homeless- with incomes below 30% of area median income.
Four of the ten MACDC Member projects will be in the City of Boston:
- Southwest Boston CDC will preserve and rehabilitate 68 Homes, a scattered-site family housing project. Of the 68 rental units, 67 will be affordable, and 22 of these will be further reserved for ELI households.
- 250 Seaver Street, sponsored by Commonwealth Land Trust, will provide 16 single-room occupancy units for homeless individuals, who will be able to access supportive services.
- VietAID will preserve and refinance 1392 House/19-21 Faulkner in Dorchester, to continue providing 18 units of both affordable family housing and single-room occupancy housing for homeless individuals, with extensive supportive services provided.
- Mildred Hailey 2, a new construction project for families in Jamaica Plain, will be developed by Jamaica Plain NDC. This phase of the Bromley Heath public housing redevelopment will consist of 65 affordable apartments, and 17 of these further reserved for ELI households.
Three MACDC Member projects will be in Western Massachusetts:
- Home City Development will newly construct Ferry Street in Easthampton, on a site including former mill buildings. The project will offer 96 rental units, including 91 affordable apartments, with 27 of these reserved for ELI households.
- EconoLodge Redevelopment in Hadley is the adaptive reuse of a closed hotel as permanent supportive housing. Valley Community Development will produce 50 affordable apartments, with 31 of these units further reserved for extremely low-income households, primarily homeless individuals.
- Hearthway will newly construct Eagle Mill Phase II in Lee, in partnership with Rees-Larkin. The project will provide 44 units, including 24 affordable apartments, with 8 apartments reserved for ELI families.
Three MACDC Member projects will be located in Eastern Massachusetts, outside of Greater Boston:
- Asian CDC will newly construct 213 Main Street in Malden, which will offer 20 affordable family units. Of these, 5 units will be reserved for ELI households.
- HSL Stoughton, a new construction project for seniors in Stoughton sponsored by Hebrew Senior Life, will provide 96 units affordable to seniors, with 36 of these apartments reserved for ELI seniors.
- NeighborWorks Housing Solutions will newly construct Cranberry Manor Phase II in Wareham. All 40 units will be affordable to seniors, with 8 of these homes reserved for ELI seniors.
Emily Haber, MACDC’s President & CEO, attended the award announcement in Winchester, and noted the following: “MACDC is proud that of the 21 projects funded in the recent Rental Housing round, 10 of them are being developed by MACDC members, resulting in the production and preservation of 487 units of affordable rental housing. We are excited to see so many of our members recognized by the Administration in this important funding round as we know MACDC members are making a difference addressing the affordable housing crisis in communities across the Commonwealth.”
On June 20th, Governor Maura Healey and Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus announced the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s award of $227 million to create and preserve 1,874 rental units, with 1,731 of these homes being affordable.
Nine of the 27 projects awarded funding are being sponsored, or co-sponsored, by MACDC Members. These projects will provide 586 rental units, of which 541 will be affordable. They include the following:
- 10 Sunnyside Avenue in Arlington, sponsored by the Housing Corporation of Arlington, involves the new construction of 43 affordable homes.
- Paco East Boston Refinance, sponsored by Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH), will rehabilitate and preserve 111 units, including 76 affordable units, in East Boston.
- Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services will construct 94 affordable units in its Parcel 25 Phase 3 project in Boston’s Mission Hill Neighborhood.
- Housing Assistance Corporation, in partnership with Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), will newly construct 45 units, including 35 affordable units, at Spring Rock Village in Brewster.
- 4 Mellen, sponsored by Homeowners Rehab (HRI) is a combined new construction and adaptive reuse project that will provide 29 affordable units in Cambridge.
- Mariner Mill 4A in Lawrence, sponsored by Lawrence Community Works, is the adaptive reuse of a large-scale vacant mill building, and will provide 72 affordable units.
- Commonwealth Land Trust will newly construct La Casa in Lynn, to provide 40 affordable homes.
- Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) will rehabilitate and preserve 60 affordable units at Bow Linden in Somerville.
- SCC, working with POAH, received an award for the second phase of the multi-phase redevelopment of public housing in Somerville, involving the new construction of 92 affordable units.
Congratulations to our Members for their tireless work to create and preserve affordable housing for the Commonwealth’s residents, and appreciation to the Governor and Secretary Augustus for their commitment to addressing our affordable housing crisis.