100 Affordable Housing Units Preserved in Pittsfield with MassDevelopment Bonds
July 29, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
Jon Rudzinski, Rees-Larkin Development, 617-838-9388
jon@rees-larkindevelopment.com
Elton O. Ogden, Berkshire Housing Development Corporation, 413-499-1630 x105
eogden@berkshirehousing.com
MassDevelopment has issued a $7.9 million tax-exempt bond and a $1.1 million taxable bond on behalf of Pittsfield April Lane, LLC, which will use bond proceeds to fund the acquisition and renovation of Dalton Apartments at 51 April Lane in Pittsfield. Originally constructed in 1970, Dalton Apartments consists of 11 buildings containing 28 one-bedroom units, 44 two-bedroom units, and 28 three-bedroom units. The organization will renovate and preserve all 100 units as affordable to households earning no more than 60 percent of area median income. The developers plan to replace roofs, windows, furnaces, hot water tanks, kitchens, appliances, floors, and lights while creating five handicapped-accessible units. In addition to the tax-exempt bond, MassDevelopment assisted DHCD with the approval of federal low-income housing tax credits, which provided approximately $3.2 million in equity. Bank of America purchased the bond.
“The purchase and renovation of the Dalton Apartments will keep 100 units of needed affordable housing in Pittsfield,” said Marty Jones, MassDevelopment President and CEO. “Preserving affordable housing stock is crucial to individuals and families in Gateway Cities and is a cornerstone for economic development in our urban centers. We’re pleased to support Pittsfield April Lane, LLC in this effort in the Berkshires.”
Pittsfield April Lane, LLC is a collaboration between Rees-Larkin Development and Berkshire Housing Development Corporation.
Rees-Larkin Development is a real estate development firm that specializes in the development of quality affordable and mixed-income housing in New England communities. Headquartered in Jamaica Plain, the mission of Rees-Larkin Development is to create thoughtful, sustainable, and financially viable communities that are, in themselves, assets to the larger community.
“With ample two- and three-bedroom townhouse units and a bucolic setting in a stable neighborhood, Dalton Apartments is a fundamentally sound piece of real estate that had been starved of capital and fallen into severe disrepair,” added Jon Rudzinski, founder of Rees-Larkin Development. “The substantial rehabilitation will revive the 45-year old property. It is fair to say that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to construct 100 units of affordable family housing with the characteristics of a revived Dalton Apartments today.”
Berkshire Housing Development Corporation is the community development corporation for Berkshire County. Since its founding in 1971, the organization has focused on improving the lives of Berkshire County residents by creating affordable housing, providing housing services and programs and helping communities access and administer community development projects.
“Dalton Apartments is a very important affordable housing resource for central Berkshire County that was on the verge of being lost due to years of disinvestment and the expiration of use restrictions,” said Elton O. Ogden, President of Berkshire Housing Development Corporation. “Thanks to MassDevelopment and our other funding partners we are able to purchase the property and perform major renovations thereby ensuring that 100 units of affordable family housing will be available to the community for many years to come.”
Earlier this year, MassDevelopment issued a $10 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Miss Hall’s School, an independent secondary school in Pittsfield for girls in grades nine through 12. The School will use the proceeds to build state-of-the-art academic and residential buildings.
The City of Pittsfield is also receiving assistance from the Transformative Development Initiative for the Tyler Street neighborhood, which MassDevelopment chose as a TDI District in 2014.
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2014, MassDevelopment financed or managed 314 projects generating investment of more than $2.9 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 6,300 jobs and build or rehabilitate more than 1,600 residential units.