BOSTON – MassHousing has provided $10.8 million in financing to the nonprofit developer Home City Development, Inc, to advance the second phase of the substantial rehabilitation of the 136-unit E. Henry Twiggs Estates in Springfield, MA.
The project will complete major renovations of 61 scattered-site apartments for low-income families in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield.
MassHousing is supporting the redevelopment of E. Henry Twiggs Estates by issuing $10.8 million in short-term, tax-exempt debt, in a private placement with TD Bank. TD Bank will serve as both construction and permanent financing lender on the project. Permanent financing will result from a taxable execution with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. This transaction is MassHousing’s first tax-exempt conduit loan outside Greater Boston.
“MassHousing’s partnership with TD Bank, and Home City Development, will preserve a key affordable housing resource in Springfield,” said MassHousing Acting Executive Director Tom Lyons. “Safe, modern affordable housing supports healthy families. Many of properties involved in this transaction are more than 100 years old and in need of major upgrades. By delivering major renovations to the interiors and exteriors of the E. Henry Twiggs Estates properties, this project will dramatically improve the quality of life enjoyed by the residents of the Twiggs Estates, and support the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood.”
The E. Henry Twiggs Estates are comprised of 136 affordable units located in 59 scattered-site buildings, including 41 more than 100 years old, and 18 structures built in the 1980s. Phase One of the rehabilitation effort, which MassHousing was not involved with, completely renovated 75 affordable housing units. The second phase of the project will completely upgrade the remaining 61 units, delivering upgraded heating systems and insulation, new kitchens and bathrooms in all units, new roofing and siding, and energy efficiency upgrades, including the replacement of boilers and updated electrical wiring.
Of the 61 units in Phase Two, 16 will be reserved for households at or below 30% of the Area Median Income ($24,600 a year for a family of four), and 45 units will be for households earning at or below 60% AMI ($39,960 a year for a family of four). Twenty-eight of the units are supported through the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program and four units are subsidized through the Massachusetts Supportive Housing Initiative.
“Home City is proud of its contributions to the wealth and success of our residents and the City of Springfield, as a whole,” said Home City Development Executive Director Thomas Kegelman. “We are proud of our residents’ contributions every day to the vibrancy and spirit of their neighborhoods. We enjoy working with them to grow new gardens, create new artwork, enhance our parks, and turn old, drafty houses into warm, cozy homes. This is exciting work and we are grateful to have such generous and caring partners to share it with.”
In addition to the MassHousing and TD Bank financing, the transaction involved $13.8 million in equity from an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), $1.9 million in DHCD financing, $1 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD, a $2.5 million seller note, $450,000 from the Massachusetts Facilities Consolidation Fund, which supports housing for clients of the Department of Mental Health and Department of Developmental Services, and $50,000 from the City of Springfield.
MassHousing has financed or administers the rental subsidy for 42 rental housing communities in Springfield involving 5,512 housing units and an original total loan amount of $129.2 million. MassHousing has additionally provided $282.2 million in financing to more than 4,058 Springfield homebuyers or homeowners who refinanced their property.
