On April 9, state officials visited two CDCs to announce $1.5 million in awards for eleven regional foreclosure prevention centers and ten organizations that provide consumer and homeownership counseling.   EOHED Secretary Jay Ash traveled to the Neighbor Works Homeownership Center of Central MA in Worcester and to Wayfinders in Springfield to announce these important grants.

CDCs continue to be among the leaders in providing these essential services, with thirteen of the twenty-one awards made to MACDC Members or coalitions which include MACDC Members.  CDCs serving urban, rural, and suburban areas across the Commonwealth are helping homebuyers acquire their first homes and assisting homeowners at risk of foreclosure in keeping their homes.

The counseling awards were created through Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2007 – a law that MACDC helped enact through our advocacy with CHAPA and MAHA.  They are funded by fees associated with the licensing of mortgage loan originators. These grants have enabled Regional Foreclosure Education Centers and Consumer Counseling Agencies to serve more than 4,700 Massachusetts consumers in 2017. More than 85 percent of the families receiving foreclosure prevention counseling were able to avoid foreclosure and successfully remain in their homes.  Since the inception of the Grant program in 2008, the Division of Banks (DOB) has awarded more than $12 million to organizations to assist over 41,000 consumers.

In his remarks, Secretary Ash noted that he and Governor Baker know that “without a stable roof over your head, nothing else is possible.”  Undersecretary John Chapman of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation acknowledged the role of the Division of Banks in administering and advocating for the program, and DOB Commissioner Terence McGinnis closed the event by noting the Division’s rigorous review of applications and thanking the counseling organizations for accomplishing their mission in a fiscally responsible manner.

The $1.5 million awarded is higher than in recent years.  MACDC appreciates the Baker-Polito Administration’s recognition of the importance of these funds to organizations that so many families rely on to acquire and keep their homes.  We are particularly grateful to the Division of Banks for its continued advocacy for the program and for its thoughtful and effective oversight.

The City of Northampton has spent the last four years developing a plan to revitalize the Pleasant Street Corridor, a stretch that has been identified as an important gateway to downtown Northampton.  Two CDC affordable housing developments have played a key role in the rejuvenation of the corridor.

Way Finders’  Live 155 Apartments, currently under construction, will provide 70 mixed-income studio and one-bedroom apartments when it is completed in the spring of 2018.  Just across Pleasant Street is Valley CDC’s  Lumber Yard Apartments, which will break ground next month on 55 affordable units.  Both projects will include commercial space.

These projects complement the City’s efforts to transform Pleasant Street from a state highway into a city street that serves the needs of residents and local business.  Infrastructure improvements include new raised crosswalks, curb extensions, improved bicycle and pedestrian paths, the addition of on-street parking, landscaping, and a new rotary that provides some separation between the highway and the main city street.

Both projects were assisted by The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), a public-private community development finance institution that provides financial resources and technical expertise for community-based and other non-profit organizations engaged in effective community development in Massachusetts.

In its weekly blog, Insites, CEDAC highlights the catalytic role that these two projects are having in Northampton.

Despite substantial gains made over 45 years of public health intervention, lead exposure remains a significant health risk for children in Massachusetts. Recent evidence suggests that for children there is no safe level of exposure to lead and that exposure to relatively low levels can result in irreversible health effects.  Due to recent advances in State policy, there are new tools to combat the dangers posed by lead paint.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has proposed amendments to regulations on Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control, to lower the threshold of Blood Lead Level (BLL) defining lead poisoning.  DPH notes that this will broaden the protection of children by expanding the number of properties where the Commonwealth would require inspection and remediation of violations of the Lead Law, increasing the number of lead-safe units.  The change also underscores the need for funding to remove hazardous lead paint.  Fortunately, funding is now more readily available to help homeowners.

In October 2016, MassHousing, which administers the Get the Lead Out Program on behalf of the MA Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), announced enhancements to the Program.  These enhancements make it easier for all families throughout the Commonwealth to gain access to the GTLO funds.  One important enhancement is that now all owner occupants have access to 0% loans, with repayment deferred until the home is sold, transferred, or refinanced. Mass Housing also made technical changes that make it easier for banks and non-profit agencies, including CDCs, to administer the program.

These changes were the result of advocacy by MACDC, its Members, CHAPA, the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, and the Massachusetts Public Health Association.  We met with representatives of DHCD and MassHousing late in 2015, and again in May of 2016.  The agencies were receptive to our recommendations, culminating in the significant changes announced in October of 2016.

These improvements to the GTLO Program have paid off.  In fiscal year 2017, 80 loans were made – the most since fiscal year 2008.  In fact, these 80 loans were more than the combined loans made during the four-year period from fiscal years 2010 through 2013!  MACDC’s advocacy played a significant role in this success.

Exposure to lead paint remains a serious problem.  Due to the welcome increase in the number of GTLO loans, the available funding has been reduced to approximately $3.5 million.  MACDC hopes to work with DHCD and MassHousing to secure additional funding for this important program in the coming months and years.

On August 15, Governor Baker and State officials announced the award of over $72 million in subsidy funding, as well as state and federal housing tax credits that will generate more than $180 million in subsidized private equity, for the development of affordable rental housing.  When completed, these 25 projects http://www.mass.gov/hed/press-releases/administration-awards-72m-to-create-and-preserve-housing.html will create or preserve 1,978 rental units, including 1,698 affordable units, with 402 of these affordable units reserved for very low-income families and families making the transition out of homelessness.

MACDC Members were well represented among the awardees, with 12 receiving awards, resulting in the creation or preservation of 747 rental units, including 631 affordable units:

• Fenway CDC will preserve 52 units, including 39 affordable units, in Burbank Gardens, located in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.
• Jamaica Plain NDC will newly construct 47 units, including 40 affordable units, in General Heath Square Apartments, located in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
• Lena Park CDC, in partnership with New Boston Fund, will construct 100 units, including 40 affordable units, on the site of the former Boston State Hospital, in Olmstead Green Mixed-Income.
• Codman Square NDC will develop 40 affordable family units in Talbot Commons Phase 1, located in Boston’s Codman Square neighborhood.
• Urban Edge will preserve 99 units, including 89 affordable units, in Wilshire Westminster House in Boston.
• Just-A-Start will preserve 112 affordable units in several properties in Cambridge, including those destroyed by fire, in JAS Consolidation.
• Berkshire Housing Development Corporation will develop 60 affordable units in Great Barrington, through a combination of rehabilitation and new construction, in Bostwick Gardens.
• Coalition for a Better Acre will construct 44 affordable units in The Gerson Building, located in Haverhill.
• NewVue Communities will develop Carter School, an historic rehabilitation project in Leominster consisting of 39 affordable units.
• North Shore CDC will preserve 27 single-room-occupancy units, including 26 affordable units, in Harbor and Lafayette Homes, located in Salem.
• Home City Housing will preserve 104 units in Springfield, including 79 affordable units, in Chestnut Crossing.
• Domus, Inc. will develop Moseley Apartments, an historic rehab, with 23 affordable units, located in Westfield.

The strong showing by CDCs reflects the growing strength of the CDC sector in Massachusetts due in part to the Community Investment Tax Credit program, the Mel King Institute for Community Building and other capacity building efforts undertaken in recent years.  MACDC will continue to steward these programs while also advocating for for more housing resources that will enable CDCs and others to expand the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Commonwealth . 

On May 31, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $1.05 Million in grants to fund first-time homeownership counseling programs and foreclosure prevention education centers throughout the Commonwealth.  Twenty awards were made to eleven regional foreclosure prevention centers and nine consumer counseling organizations. (link to award announcement)

MACDC Members play a prominent role in providing this counseling.  Of the twenty grants, thirteen were made to MACDC Members or to coalitions which include MACDC Members.  From Boston to Springfield, and from Merrimack Valley to Cape Cod, CDCs are helping homebuyers acquire their first home, and assisting homeowners at risk of foreclosure in keeping their homes.

The counseling awards were created through Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2007.  Since the inception of the grant program in 2008, the MA Division of Banks (DOB) has awarded more than $10 million to organizations that have assisted over 37,000 families.  From data compiled by DOB, approximately 80% of households receiving foreclosure prevention counseling under the Chapter 206 awards have been able to successfully stay in their homes.

The funding made available this year is lower than the $1.3 million awarded each of the last couple of years, which creates challenges for the organizations which must maintain the effectiveness of their programs with reduced funding.  However, the continued funding for this program in the face of the Commonwealth’s recent revenue challenges is testament to the effectiveness of this program and the Administration’s commitment to it.  MACDC is grateful to the Administration and to the DOB for their longstanding support for this program.

On May 22, CHAPA held a breakfast forum on “Doing Business in Times of Uncertainty.” The forum featured remarks by Chrystal Kornegay from DHCD and Tim Sullivan from MassHousing on their collaborative efforts to provide funding for an array of affordable housing projects, from the current tax credit rental round; to the Community Scale Housing Initiative for projects of 5-20 units; to MassHousing’s commitment of $100 million for workforce housing, for families whose incomes are too high for subsidized housing, but are priced out of market rents.  A roundtable of public and private housing leaders discussed how the political context for affordable housing is different than in prior years, and provided insights into the legislative machinations in Washington, D.C.

The federal Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus Bill maintained funding for housing programs in the HUD budget.  Given the demonstrated support for programs like CDBG and HOME, there is some hope that the deep cuts proposed by President Trump in the FY18 budget will not be adopted, but some cuts are likely.  The fate of tax legislation is uncertain.  While a reduction in corporate tax rates, if enacted, will impact the pricing on the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program, the sense of the presenters is that the rate will get nowhere near the 15% tax rate proposed by Trump.  They noted that the LIHTC, along with the New Market Tax Credit and Historic Tax Credit, have strong bipartisan support.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker released his capital budget for Fiscal Year 2018, and the affordable housing capital budget increased by $9 million to a total of $221 million.

In just two years, the housing capital budget has increased by almost $25 million.  Most of this increase is in funding for preservation of affordable housing in projects where affordability is at risk of being lost.  The Governor is supplementing state bond funds with additional dollars from MassHousing and the new National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to boost total capital spending for affordable housing.

Other MACDC priorities also received support in the capital budget.  The budget includes $2.65 million for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, administered by MassDevelopment, for the assessment, remediation, and redevelopment of environmentally contaminated sites.  Unfortunately, this funding level is less than half what MACDC believes is necessary to meet demand.  The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will have $250,000 in new dollars to provide grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to match federal or private dollars in support of small business development.  Through the Massachusetts Food Trust, CDFIs will also receive $1 million in grants to support loans to ventures that increase access to healthy foods.

CLICK HERE for a spreadsheet with the details of the FY18 housing capital budget, along with a comparison of how the budget has varied over the past five years.

On March 29, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced funding for 177 affordable units in seven supportive housing projects, providing project funding coupled with rental assistance and funding for support services for these projects targeted to serving Extremely Low Income and homeless individuals and families.

MACDC Members again figured prominently in the Commonwealth’s efforts to serve the neediest households.  Two projects, including 38 affordable units, were sponsored by MACDC Members: The Neighborhood Developers and Worcester Common Ground.

DHCD has held three prior Supportive Housing Rounds since 2014; through these targeted funding rounds, DHCD has now awarded funding to over 900 homes for low-income individuals and families needing housing and support services.  In this round, DHCD provided almost $17 million in subsidies and low income housing tax credits, along with $3.1 million from the National Housing Trust Fund, a newly authorized federal program that supports the development of affordable housing for individuals and families with the greatest needs.  With funding for this and other federal housing programs at risk, the DHCD awards underscore the need to continue federal support for housing vulnerable populations.