Salem, MA – Beacon Communities broke ground on Leefort Terrace, a new 124-unit, climate-resilient community on Salem Neck, MA.
Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll spoke at the celebration ceremony in the city where she was Mayor for 17 years. Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus, Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, Salem Housing Authority Executive Director, Cathy Hoog, Resident of Leefort Terrace, Shannon Bailey, Executive Director of Massachusetts Housing Partnership, Clark Ziegler, and CEO of Beacon Communities, Dara Kovel, also spoke at the event.
Originally built in the 1950s for elderly and disabled residents, Beacon’s redevelopment of Leefort Terrace will replace the garden-style apartments located in a coastal floodplain. The new buildings will include a three-story and a four-story structure with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. These buildings will be all-electric, Passive House certified, and built well above the expected 2070 floodplain levels.
“We are grateful to our partners at the local, state and federal level, as well as to the Salem Housing Authority, for their collaboration and commitment to expanding housing opportunities that will reduce our carbon footprint and be affordable for generations to come,” said Dara Kovel, CEO of Beacon Communities. “We appreciate the patience and support of the residents and look forward to welcoming them into their new homes in early 2026.”
All apartments will be affordable to households with incomes at or below 30% and 60% Area Median Income for 99 years. Fifty one-bedroom units are further restricted for 99 years, with households living in those units having additional rights and rent restrictions consistent with state public housing regulations. Amenities will include a fitness center, a community room, a wellness office, computer stations, a tenants’ organization office, a property management office, and laundry rooms on each floor. There will be publicly accessible open space along Collins Cove, as well as a private residential courtyard featuring a grilling area, a bocce court and victory gardens.
“As an administration, we are dedicated to addressing two of our most pressing challenges: housing and climate change,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “That’s why we’ve passed the Affordable Homes Act into law because it’ll help create thousands of new units of housing that we need and it invests $275 million exclusively to sustainable and green housing initiatives. Our administration has made strides in ensuring that people who say yes to building housing have the support they need to make it happen. Last fall, we expanded the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) program which helped make projects like this one come to life. As the former mayor of Salem, I know how impactful developments like Leefort Terrace are for the community and I’m excited to celebrate this groundbreaking.”
“Leefort Terrace is the gold standard for affordable and climate-resilient public housing,” said Ed Augustus, Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities. “Not only does this project replace 50 public housing units, it adds 74 new 100% affordable homes for extremely low-income residents. It will be a 100% electric building and able to withstand the weather of the future. Congratulations to Salem Housing Authority and Beacon Communities for this achievement.”
The project is financed by a combination of 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), State LIHTC, State subsidy, Salem ARPA, Salem CPA, Salem-Peabody EPA, Brownfields and North Shore Consortium HOME funds, energy efficiency tax credits and rebates, and real estate tax relief through an Urban Center Housing-TIF agreement.
“The new Leefort Terrace facility will create new homes with dignity for tenants of the Salem Housing Authority and create additional 100% affordable housing for other Salem residents in need,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo, “The new, more resilient Leefort Terrace represents a step forward for our community in meeting our affordability, climate, and open space goals. Most importantly, it will provide some of our most vulnerable residents with a safe, accessible, and comfortable place to call home.”
Other financing partners include RBC Community Investments, Citizens Bank, Eastern Bank, Massachusetts Housing Partnership, MassDevelopment, MA Affordable Housing Trust Fund, City of Salem, Salem-Peabody Coalition EPA Brownfields Funds, and North Shore HOME Consortium.
