MassDevelopment Bond Finances Affordable Senior Housing Facility in Dorchester

September 17, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Schiller, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 617-694-9695 (cell)
kschiller@massdevelopment.com

Dana Green, Hearth, Inc., 617-369-1555
dgreen@hearth-home.org

MassDevelopment has issued a $10 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Hearth Four Corners LLC, an affiliate of Hearth, Inc., which is a nationally acclaimed nonprofit dedicated to eliminating elder homelessness. Hearth will use bond proceeds to buy a parcel near the Four Corners/Geneva MBTA commuter rail station in Dorchester, on which it will build and equip a 54-unit affordable rental housing facility for homeless and at-risk seniors. The facility will include studio and one-bedroom units, and will be available to individuals ages 62 and older earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. Citizens Bank purchased the bond.

In addition to the tax-exempt bond, MassDevelopment also assisted the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development with the approval of federal low-income housing tax credits, which will provide approximately $7.1 million in equity for the project.

“The team at Hearth, Inc. is committed to ensuring our seniors have a safe, supportive, and affordable place to call home,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “MassDevelopment is proud to be a part of the organization’s effort to build 54 new units of housing in Dorchester.”

Hearth, Inc.’s mission is to end elder homelessness through a unique blend of prevention, placement, and housing programs aimed at helping elders find and succeed in homes of their own. The organization’s housing developments provide an array of supportive services that help residents age with dignity, regardless of their medical, mental health, or social needs. In 2018, Hearth’s outreach and housing programs provided comprehensive direct care, housing placement, and/or homeless prevention services to 555 older adults across all programs. Hearth operates six other housing developments within a three-mile radius of the proposed site near Four Corners, in Brookline, Dorchester, Dudley Square, Jamaica Plain, and the South End.

“We at Hearth feel so grateful to the amazing team of supporters from agencies dedicated to living up to the dream of ensuring all people, and particularly the most vulnerable members of our community, have a safe, decent and permanent home,” said Hearth, Inc. President and CEO Mark Hinderlie. “MassDevelopment staff and leadership has not only been there for us every step of the way, but have gone out of their own way to make the development and financing of this project, from start to finish, be incredibly quick (for a complex development project with so many stakeholders)! With the construction already underway we are confident of being able to move from groundbreaking to ribbon-cutting in time to open in fall of 2020. Our ceremonial groundbreaking will be held on September 24, 2019 at 10 a.m. at 16 Ronald Street in Dorchester.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2018, MassDevelopment financed or managed 384 projects generating investment of more than $4.1 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 10,994 jobs and build or rehabilitate 830 housing units.