MassDevelopment

Jefferson Park Apartments to Rebuild Cambridge Buildings with $30.8 Million in MassDevelopment Bonds


March 24, 2016


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com

John Woods, Cambridge Housing Authority, 617-520-6254
jwoods@cambridge-housing.org

MassDevelopment has issued a $30.8 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Jefferson Park Apartments LLC, which is using bond proceeds to demolish and reconstruct Jefferson Park, a 108-unit, 100 percent affordable multi-family housing facility in six Cambridge buildings. As the result of its master study, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development ruled the site’s conditions obsolete, calling for demolition of the buildings. Rebuilding will create 104 units: 32 one-bedroom units, 53 two-bedroom units, and 19 three-bedroom units. Other improvements will include private entrances for each of the units, along with maintaining private outdoor spaces and landscape designs. Bank of America is the project’s bond purchaser and MassDevelopment also assisted DHCD with the approval of federal low income housing tax credits that will provide approximately $25.1 million in equity.

“Providing affordable housing in Cambridge remains crucial in one of the Commonwealth’s most competitive housing markets,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “We’re pleased to continue to work with the Cambridge Housing Authority and the Department of Housing and Community Development on revitalizing these buildings.”

Jefferson Park was built in North Cambridge in 1950 and acted as housing for veterans and their families after World War II. Since then, the Cambridge Housing Authority has provided affordable housing for families and individuals in these units. CHA is a national leader in the development, management, and administration of subsidized affordable housing for more than 5,000 households of low-income elders, families, and disabled individuals. MassDevelopment has issued bonds on behalf of several CHA projects, most recently $104 million in tax-exempt bonds for three affordable housing developments.

“The revitalization of Jefferson Park-State exemplifies the CHA’s commitment to provide its residents with high quality, energy-efficient housing that will remain affordable for generations to come. We are grateful to the many partners that have helped to make this important project possible including the support of the City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust, the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, the Alliance of Cambridge Tenants, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, Bank of America, and of course the extremely valuable resources and technical assistance made available through MassDevelopment. Jefferson Park-State is another in the long line of development projects the CHA has worked on with MassDevelopment and we look forward to working with them on many of our future efforts to expand and preserve the supply of affordable housing in Cambridge,” said Greg Russ, Executive Director of the CHA.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2015, MassDevelopment financed or managed 294 projects generating investment of more than $2.5 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 6,100 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 2,000 residential units.