The Community Builders Complete Renovations at Lyman Terrace With Additional Financing From MassDevelopment

October 17, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Schiller, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 617-694-9695 (cell)
kschiller@massdevelopment.com

Jacquinn Sinclair, The Community Builders, 857-221-8794 & 617-416-9056
jsinclair@tcbinc.org

MassDevelopment has issued a $22,763,000 tax-exempt bond on behalf of Lyman Terrace Phase II LLC, an affiliate of The Community Builders, Inc. The organization will use bond proceeds to complete the second phase of renovations at Lyman Terrace, a 164-unit affordable multi-family rental housing facility in downtown Holyoke. MassDevelopment also assisted the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development with the approval of federal low-income housing tax credits, which will provide approximately $18 million in equity for the project. The bond was sold through a public offering underwritten by KeyBanc Capital Markets.

In 2016, The Community Builders used an $18.3 million tax-exempt bond from MassDevelopment to complete the first phase of the project, which included renovating 88 units and introducing a new roadway through the property. The second phase will include renovating 76 units, introducing a second new roadway, and building a new management office that will offer resident services, including a Holyoke Boys and Girls Club for school-age children.

“At a time when the need for new housing options in Massachusetts is growing, it’s equally important that we take steps to preserve the homes that already exist,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “MassDevelopment has been a proud financing partner to The Community Builders throughout the renovation of Lyman Terrace, and we’re pleased to see the project enter its final stage.”

The Community Builders is one of America's leading nonprofit housing organizations. The Community Builders’ mission is to build and sustain strong communities where people of all incomes can achieve their full potential. The organization realizes its mission by developing, financing, and operating residential communities, neighborhood amenities, and resident opportunity programs. Since 1964, The Community Builders has constructed or preserved hundreds of affordable and mixed-income housing developments and pioneered the Community Life model for resident success. Today, anchored by offices in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, and Washington, D.C., The Community Builders owns or manages 11,000 apartment homes in more than 14 states.

“The Community Builders is committed to the revitalization of Lyman Terrace, which is strengthening the fabric of downtown Holyoke,” said The Community Builders Regional Manager of Development Rachana Crowley. “MassDevelopment’s bond financing is a critical resource that allows us to provide 76 families with an even better place to live.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth. During FY2019, MassDevelopment financed or managed 316 projects generating investment of more than $2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 9,743 jobs and build or preserve 1,992 housing units.