MassDevelopment, Greenfield Savings Bank Partner to Finance Village Hill Cohousing

September 3, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Paul Benjamin, Greenfield Savings Bank, 413-530-2837
pbenjamin@greenfieldsavings.com

Shaul Perry, Sunwood Builders, 413-259-1000 & 413-626-0244 (cell)
sunwood@comcast.net

MassDevelopment has partnered with Greenfield Savings Bank to provide Sunwood Builders, Inc. and Sunwood Development Corporation with loan financing for Village Hill Cohousing (VHC), an energy-efficient cohousing community under construction at Village Hill Northampton. Village Hill Cohousing broke ground in late 2018, and once complete will include a common house and 28 individual homes. Greenfield Savings Bank provided a $1.5 million loan, which MassDevelopment enhanced with a guarantee, to fund infrastructure needs at the site. In addition, Greenfield Savings Bank provided another $2 million loan to fund construction costs.

“Greenfield Savings Bank is pleased by this opportunity to work on another project with Sunwood Builders and MassDevelopment,” said Mark Grumoli, Senior Vice President & Commercial Loan Officer of Greenfield Savings Bank. “Village Hill Cohousing, a community within a community, is another example of our more than 150-year mission creating new housing opportunities in the communities we serve.”

“MassDevelopment is proud to use the tools at our disposal to facilitate the redevelopment of Village Hill Northampton,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “We thank Greenfield Savings Bank for partnering to provide financing for Village Hill Cohousing, a development that embodies all of the elements that make Village Hill Northampton unique – quality craftsmanship and design, sustainability, and close connection to downtown Northampton.”

Village Hill Northampton is a 126-acre master-planned community based on New Urbanist principles. It combines commercial, R&D/light industrial, and residential uses with open space to support regional job creation, housing, business development, and recreation. MassDevelopment is the project’s managing partner overseeing the development effort. When build-out is complete, the former state hospital site will feature approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space comprised of retail, office, and light industrial uses, 337 residential units – including market-rate homes and affordable homes and rental units – and open space.

Located in the northeast corner of Village Hill Northampton, Village Hill Cohousing aspires to be a diverse, multigenerational community, committed to compassionate living through respect, kindness, and generosity. The community will include a combination of single-family and duplex homes ranging in size from 1,250 square feet to 2,200 square feet. An over 4,000-square-foot common house, available to all residents, will include a commercial kitchen, meeting space, children’s playroom, guest rooms, and more.

Founded in 1987 by Shaul Perry, Sunwood Builders builds custom homes and condominiums throughout western Massachusetts, and has completed numerous residential projects in the Northampton area. Sunwood’s custom homes are typically designed and constructed to reduce energy waste without compromising high performance. Some of the various eco-smart products and materials found in Sunwood’s custom homes include high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, windows and doors designed to maintain indoor temperature, high-performance insulation that holds in heat during winter and cooler air in the summer, Energy Star-rated appliances, and recycled or synthetic building materials manufactured with low impact on the environment.

“Village Hill Cohousing is centered around community involvement, ecological sustainability and supportive friendships,” said Shaul Perry, Owner and Founder of Sunwood Builders. “Members of VHC will be living in an area that is rich in history, natural beauty and the arts. Cohousing combines fully equipped, privately owned homes with a design that supports a sense of neighborhood. Sunwood is committed to construction of these energy smart homes and common house which in turn will enhance the quality of life for those joining this vibrant community.”

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.