State funds boost affordable housing projects in region

Way Finders’ project to turn The Essex building in Holyoke into affordable housing  has received funding support from the  Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

Way Finders’ project to turn The Essex building in Holyoke into affordable housing has received funding support from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

The boarded-up Northampton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Bridge Road is shown in March 2017. Valley Community Development is overseeing a project to create 60 affordable apartments on the 6.2-acre site.

The boarded-up Northampton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on Bridge Road is shown in March 2017. Valley Community Development is overseeing a project to create 60 affordable apartments on the 6.2-acre site. FILE PHOTO

By James Pentland

Staff Report

Published: 01-22-2024 7:01 PM

Modified: 01-23-2024 2:20 PM


NORTHAMPTON — Affordable housing projects in 19 communities, including Northampton, South Hadley and Holyoke, will benefit from subsidies and tax credits announced Monday by Gov. Maura Healey.

Area projects approved for funding are Prospect Place, a former nursing home on Bridge Road in Northampton, Plaza Apartments in South Hadley, and Library Commons 2.

The money comes from subsidies and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which saw a $20 million increase in the tax package Healey signed in October.

Northampton

Prospect Place, a $30 million project to redevelop a vacant and blighted former nursing home to create 60 affordable apartments for families, including homeless families, is being overseen by Northampton’s Valley Community Development.

“We are thrilled that, with the commonwealth’s support, this property will add desperately needed affordable apartments and all-electric systems powered by geothermal and photovoltaics.” Alexis Breiteneicher, Valley CDC’s executive director, said in a statement.

“Geothermal has untapped potential for housing of all forms and we hope our project can catalyze new ways to look at climate readiness,” project manager Bill Womeldorf said.

The 6.2-acre former Northampton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at 737 Bridge Road was purchased in April 2021 for $1.9 million by the Pointer Fund and Pointer Development, based in Miami and run by Amalfi Gayosso, a UMass Amherst alumna with ties to Northampton. The development group then partnered with Valley CDC to form a joint venture called Prospect Place Owner LLC.

The project received $2 million in November from the Department of Energy Resources to install a ground source heat pump system and a 300-kilowatt solar system.

South Hadley

South Hadley’s Plaza Apartments will bring 60 mixed-income residences to a 3-acre site that was formerly part of the Woodlawn Shopping Plaza, near the intersection of Routes 33 and 116).

The four-story apartment building will be developed by Springfield nonprofit Way Finders in partnership with South Hadley Plaza LLC., co-owned by Rocco Falcone, president of Rocky’s Ace Hardware; Peter Picknelly, CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines; and The Bean Restaurant Group.

“This is a big step toward providing much needed affording housing in the region,” Way Finders President and CEO Keith Fairey said in a statement.

“South Hadley is taking affordable housing seriously, including in our recently approved Housing Production Plan,” South Hadley Town Administrator Lisa Wong stated. “The town recognizes how affordable housing is integral to its economic success.”

Construction of the Plaza Apartments is slated to start in fall 2024 and will take approximately 16 months to complete.

Holyoke

Library Commons 2, also known as The Essex, is Way Finders’ latest effort to transform and reshape Holyoke’s Chestnut-Essex Street corridor.

Consisting of four sites and offering 41 affordable rental units, The Essex will encircle Way Finders’ first focal point — Library Commons, completed in 2021 and featuring 38 affordable units.

The Essex will follow the same approach — the building of new, the rehabbing of old — through the construction of three townhome-style buildings and the renovation of a circa 1888 structure, set to begin by the end of 2024.

A block from the restored Holyoke Public Library and within walking distance of Lawrence Elementary School.

“The creation of 41 units of decent, affordable housing in downtown Holyoke is a big step forward,” Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said in a statement. “The Essex will meet the needs of vulnerable and under-served families. I appreciate the work of Way Finders and the support of the state.”

The projects are receiving nearly $95 million from the Low-Income Tax Credit, including about $50.4 million in federal tax credits and $44.5 million in state tax credits, a spokesperson from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities told the State House News Service.

They’re also supported by about $138 million in subsidies from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Housing and Stabilization Fund, and the Housing Innovation Fund, as well as other state and federal programs, the spokesperson said.