Financing has been secured to refinance and rehabilitate a key affordable housing development for seniors in Lowell, Massachusetts.
MassHousing is providing $13.9 million to Silver Street Development Corp. to the effort, which will bring more than $8 million in comprehensive renovations to Jaycee Place. The 138-unit community is home to a large percentage of lower-income seniors in the area, according to officials.
“Jaycee Place is an important affordable housing resource for senior citizens in Lowell, but the property is in need of significant upgrades,” said MassHousing executive director Chrystal Kornegay. “We are pleased to be working with Silver Street to renovate the property so that the seniors there will have modern, quality apartment homes that will allow them to continue living affordably in Lowell’s amenity-rich downtown.”
MassHousing is supporting the rehabilitation with financing through the agency’s Conduit Loan Program. MassHousing issued tax-exempt housing revenue bonds, and Red Stone provided construction and permanent loans via a private placement of the bonds. This financing structure also allowed Silver Street to access $11.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity from Boston Financial, the tax credit syndicator.
Jaycee Place was originally developed in 1976 through the Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 236 program. There are 123 one- and 15 two-bedroom apartments. Previously, 130 of the property’s 138 units were set aside for households earning 60% of the area median income (AMI). However, this transaction will result in all units being affordable, with 14 units being restricted to households earning up to 30% of the AMI, and the remaining units being restricted to households earning up to 60% of the AMI. The median income for a two-person household in Lowell is $106,000.
“The preservation of Jaycee Place guarantees the availability of affordable, healthy homes well into the future,” said Matthew Kesselhaut, managing principal at Silver Street Development. “We are extremely pleased with the long-term plans we have put in place for Jaycee Place, benefiting not only the residents who call it home but also the Lowell community. It is truly remarkable to consider the number of people this property will assist over the coming decades as we strive to preserve this vital housing resource.”
The general contractor is Port Harbor Construction, and the management agent is Housing Management Resources, both affiliates of Silver Street. The architect is The Architectural Team.
