Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. (MHIC) announced that it is providing $19.7 million in financing for the renovation and adaptive reuse of the former Carter Junior High School in Leominster, Mass.
Vacant since the mid-1990s and collapsing in on itself due to extensive deterioration of the building’s interior, the 114-year-old school will be converted into 39 new affordable rental homes by NewVue Communities, a Fitchburg, Mass.–based community development corporation.
The four-story brick schoolhouse sits on a 2.24-acre site directly abutting a city park and playground on West Street in Leominster’s West Side neighborhood. It is being built with a comprehensive green building plan, which will include energy-efficient HVAC systems and appliances and a photovoltaic system on the roof for on-site renewable energy.
MHIC’s financing includes $9.2 million in low-income housing and historic tax credit financing, $3.2 million of which was provided by Avidia Bank as the tax credit investor. MHIC also provided a $10.5 million construction loan with Avidia Bank as the participating lender.
The Carter School project also received $2 million from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, $1 million from MassHousing’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a $500,000 permanent loan from Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and $175,000 in HOME funds from the city of Leominster. In addition, it received an allocation of state low-income housing and historic tax credits.
Putting the historic Carter School back into productive use will take approximately 14 months and cost $17 million.
The project team includes Davis Square Architects, Hutter Construction, Wingate Management Co., and development consultant Sharon Loewenthal.
