Main South CDC Uses MassDevelopment Bond to Buy, Renovate Worcester Mixed-Income Housing Development
February 14, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts
Meggie Quackenbush, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 857-208-2777 (cell)
mquackenbush@massdevelopment.com
J. Stephen Teasdale, Main South CDC, 508-752-6181
steasdale@mainsouthcdc.org
MassDevelopment has issued a $4 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Nuestras Casas Limited Partnership, an affiliate of the Worcester nonprofit Main South Community Development Corporation. Main South CDC is using proceeds to buy and renovate 80 multi-family residential units and five ground floor commercial units on 13 Worcester properties for Nuestras Casas, a mixed-income housing development. The development will offer 73 units that are affordable to households earning 60 percent of the area median income, two that are affordable to households earning 80 percent of the area median income, and five market-rate units. Renovations will include upgrading heating systems, bathrooms, and kitchens; replacing windows and roofs; and making general cosmetic improvements. MassDevelopment also assisted the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development with the approval of approximately $2.5 million in equity from federal low income housing tax credits, and TD Bank purchased the bond.
“The Main South CDC’s work to renovate and preserve quality housing at Nuestras Casas is essential to Worcester’s continued economic growth,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “We are pleased this low-cost financing will provide safe, welcoming homes to the working individuals and families in the Main South neighborhood.”
Main South CDC is a nonprofit incorporated in 1986 and operates in the Main South area of Worcester. The organization’s mission is to improve the quality of life for Main South residents. It accomplishes this goal by working on projects and issues that will maintain and create safe affordable housing for low-to-moderate income individuals, support economic opportunities for businesses and residents, enhance the area’s image, and instill a sense of neighborhood pride and commitment.
“The low-interest tax-exempt bond financing provided by MassDevelopment in conjunction with the low-income housing tax credits has enabled the Main South CDC to perform necessary capital improvements and cosmetic upgrades to these aging properties,” said Steve Teasdale, executive director at Main South CDC. “This financing has enhanced the operational revenue stream and ensured that these 80 units continue to serve as quality affordable housing units for years to come.”
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2016, MassDevelopment financed or managed 352 projects generating investment of more than $4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 8,200 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 4,200 residential units.