BOSTON–Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) announced that its fourth proprietary fund with Eastern Bank closed five impactful investments. Located in Lawrence, Brookline, Mashpee, Haverhill, and New Bedford, the properties will offer over 270 quality affordable homes for families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.
Eastern Bank has partnered with MHIC for nearly 30 years and has significantly increased its affordable housing investment activities in recent years. The Bank invested over $50 million in the fund, all of which directly supports the creation of permanent affordable housing across eastern Massachusetts.
“Eastern Bank is committed to the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout Massachusetts and beyond,” says Christopher Scoville, Senior Vice President of Community Development Lending for Eastern Bank. “Providing access to safe, affordable housing is at the very foundation of addressing systemic inequities. It increases economic and social vitality and mobility in communities, and is a valuable solution to ending the cycle of poverty and allowing for the creation of generational wealth. For decades, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation has been steadfast in its support and collaboration with us around improving access to affordable housing.”
“MHIC’s commitment to increasing access to affordable housing can’t happen without mission-oriented investors,” said Elizabeth Ronayne, MHIC’s Chief Capital Development Officer. “We’re grateful to Eastern Bank for working with us to provide housing stability and economic opportunity to neighborhoods across the state and especially in communities of color.”
These investments support minority business enterprises (MBEs) and workers of color by prioritizing their increased participation in the construction process. Eastern Proprietary Fund IV is estimated to direct approximately $16.9 million in contract value to MBEs and 30% in construction hours to workers of color.
The fund’s impact on communities across Massachusetts is substantial. Island Parkside Phase II in Lawrence, for example, will offer forty 100% affordable rental homes for families and individuals and a youth community center run by the nonprofit SquashBusters. It will also help revitalize the Mill District near the banks of the Merrimack River. Similarly, LeClair Village will bring much needed year-round family housing to the Upper Cape area, offering 39 affordable homes in three newly constructed buildings.
Sussman House Apartments, a development of 100 apartments near Coolidge Corner in Brookline, will be renovated so current tenants, primarily seniors and households requiring accessibility, can stay in this desirable town near Boston with affordable rent. Merrimack Place will transform vacant land in Haverhill into an affordable development offering 48 quality homes for seniors, directly adjacent to sponsor Bethany Community Services’ Merrivista property. The latest development to close, 117 Union Street in New Bedford, combines new construction with the preservation and adaptive re-use of the historic Moby Dick building. The project will transform a long-vacant site into 45 mixed-income homes (71% affordable) and 3,500 square feet of new ground-floor retail space, and brings to life New Bedford’s goals of a vibrant mixed-income, mixed-use downtown community with increased walkability.
