Karsten Companies Uses MassDevelopment Bond to Buy, Preserve 32 Units of Mixed-Income Housing in Quincy
August 10, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Louisa Stone, MassDevelopment, 857-283-3340 (cell)
lstone@massdevelopment.com
John Iredale, Karsten Companies
john@karstenco.com
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| Atlantic Gardens in Quincy |
MassDevelopment has issued a $6.4 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Bersani Circle LLC, an affiliate of Karsten Companies, which will use proceeds to buy, renovate, and equip Atlantic Gardens, a 32-unit mixed-income multifamily rental housing facility in Quincy. In addition to the tax-exempt bond, MassDevelopment assisted the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development with the approval of federal low-income housing tax credits, which will provide approximately $2.8 million in equity for the project. East Boston Savings Bank purchased the bond, which MassDevelopment also enhanced with a guarantee.
“MassDevelopment is proud to help Karsten Companies buy, renovate, and preserve the long-term affordability of Quincy’s Atlantic Gardens,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “As Massachusetts faces a housing shortage, our tax-exempt bond financing is a cost-effective tool to help developers build or preserve affordable housing across the state.”
Founded in 1986 by award-winning construction manager John Iredale, Karsten Companies is a vertically integrated construction and development firm that serves the northeast corridor.
Atlantic Gardens consists of eight separate buildings that contain three market-rate units and 29 affordable units, which are rented to households earning no more than 60% of the area median income. Karsten Companies will preserve the affordability of those units and undertake a series of renovations at the facility, including installing new roofing, siding, doors, and security enhancements, upgrading the kitchens, bathrooms, plumbing, and electric systems, and completing other improvements.
“As a developer working in the affordable housing industry, it would be impossible to do this kind of work without the dedicated people at MassDevelopment,” said Karsten Companies President John Iredale. “MassDevelopment Senior Vice President Tony Fracasso was incredibly helpful and worked with all of our partners to get us across the finish line – this project could not have happened without him.”
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth. During FY2019, MassDevelopment financed or managed 316 projects generating investment of more than $2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 9,743 jobs and build or preserve 1,992 housing units.
