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MassDevelopment Provides $19 Million in Financing for Two Northeast Human Service Providers
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February 22, 2006 Contacts: Adam Bickelman, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 Christine Kostan, Bridgewell Inc., 781-593-1088 Lisa Doucett, PCCD, 978-475-3806 MassDevelopment today announced $19,865,000 in financing for two northeast region human service providers. The Professional Center for Child Development (PCCD) in Andover is using a $2,300,000 tax-exempt bond to construct an 8,000 square foot addition to its current headquarters, renovate its original facility and refinance conventional bank debt. In Lynnfield, Bridgewell Incorporated is using $17,565,000 in tax-exempt and taxable bond financing to construct or acquire and renovate several group homes in the organization's primary service communities of Lowell, Lynn and Salem. "Organization's like Bridgewell, Inc. and The Professional Center for Child Development provide critical services to Bay State families," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "That's why it's so important to support them with low-interest financing that impacts their bottom lines, and allows them to focus more funds on the important work they do daily." Founded in 1973, The Professional Center for Child Development originally focused on providing a preschool education to disabled children in the Merrimack Valley. Today, the center employs 80 plus staff including special education teachers, physical and occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, nutritionists, licensed social workers and early childhood professionals. PCCD provides a range of services and programs for children of all abilities and their families, including transitional assistance into the public school system, early intervention and a developmental day school. The organization serves more than 1,000 local families each year. "We are using this financing to double the size of our current headquarters," said Veryl D. Anderson, PCCD co-founder and executive director. "This will allow us to provide new programming and serve more children each year, which is truly an exciting and meaningful prospect. Thanks to MassDevelopment and TD Banknorth for partnering with us to provide this financing package." Founded in 1958 as the Greater Lynn Mental Health and Retardation Association, Bridgewell Incorporated is a private, nonprofit human service provider that serves developmentally and psychologically disabled residents of northeastern Massachusetts. The organization offers residential support as well as vocational, clinical, homeless, children's and affordable housing services to its clients. Bridgewell provides services to over 2,900 individuals each day and operates programs in 18 cities and towns in Massachusetts. "This financing will help us extend the reach of our services to even more individuals, while creating jobs for local workers," said Robert Stearns, Bridgewell's chief executive officer. Last week, MassDevelopment announced two additional financing packages in the state's northeast region totaling $2,143,000. Lynn Community Health, Inc. and Project COPE, also of Lynn, are using the agency's tax-exempt bond and TechDollars programs to fund capital improvements to their headquarters and technology systems. MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. In fiscal year 2005, MassDevelopment financed or managed 158 projects statewide representing an investment of nearly $1.9 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of 2,769 housing units and more than 9,800 jobs: 4,702 permanent and 5,100 construction-related.
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