Massachusetts Preserved Over 3,400 Affordable Housing Units Last Year Despite the Challenges of the Pandemic
CEDAC announced today that Massachusetts preserved the long-term affordability of more than 3,400 existing units of rental housing during 2020. Our data show that 22 project developments with a total of 3,443 affordable apartments across the state were preserved using various types of state financing in 2020. The projects span the state and consist of large- and small-scale developments in communities across the Commonwealth, including Boston, Haverhill, Attleboro, Randolph, and Westfield. You can read more at our press release.
Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation’s Dudley Terrace project is one example of the Commonwealth’s success in preserving affordable housing. This four-building, scattered-site development in Dorchester’s Savin Hill and Upham’s Corner neighborhoods last received a moderate rehabilitation in 1999. Dorchester Bay will renovate the property’s 56 units to address building envelope concerns, energy retrofits, and life-safety improvements. All units will be designated for households below 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). CEDAC supported the project with technical assistance and committed $700,000 in predevelopment financing. In addition, CEDAC managed the award by DHCD of $406,500 in state Facilities Consolidation Funds for three units serving clients of the Department of Mental Health.
Along with Dudley Terrace, the following affordable housing developments were preserved in 2020:
| Project Name | City/Town | # of Affordable Units Preserved |
| Gardner Terrace I and II | Attleboro | 144 |
| Hebronville Mill | Attleboro | 83 |
| Cabot Housing | Beverly | 45 |
| Blue Mountain | Boston | 217 |
| Castle Square | Boston | 450 |
| Dudley Terrace | Boston | 56 |
| Granite Lena | Boston | 143 |
| New Port Antonio | Boston | 227 |
| Newcastle Saranac | Boston | 97 |
| Schoolhouse Brookledge Cummins | Boston | 90 |
| Borden Street Housing | Fall River | 260 |
| Cordovan at Haverhill Station | Haverhill | 146 |
| Sirk and Chestnut | Lowell | 88 |
| Merrimack Valley Apartments | Methuen | 60 |
| Bedford Towers | New Bedford | 157 |
| Melville Towers | New Bedford | 326 |
| Casselman House | Newton | 42 |
| Town Brook House | Quincy | 150 |
| Simon C Fireman | Randolph | 159 |
| Broadway Tower | Revere | 59 |
| Mountain View Terrace | Stoneham | 194 |
| Powdermill Village | Westfield | 250 |
| Total # of Affordable Units Preserved | ||
| 3443 |
Many housing preservation projects undertaken during the pandemic required a relocation plan so that existing tenants could remain safely housed during construction. Last year, CEDAC interviewed Housing Opportunities Unlimited (HOU) to learn about the challenges that affordable housing owners and property managers face while conducting a relocation during the public health crisis and the ways that their organization has worked to keep residents, staff, and contractors safe during the process.
The pandemic has underscored the need for everyone to have a place to call home, and we are pleased to report that housing preservation activity in Massachusetts remained strong last year despite the public health crisis. To learn more about CEDAC’s housing preservation work in collaboration with our statewide partners, click here.
