Housing Solutions of Southeastern Massachusetts has completed the refinancing and major renovation of the 32-unit Carpenter's Glen in Taunton and the 24-unit Cranberry Manor in Wareham for low-income families.
MassHousing provided $1 million for the $10 million rehabilitation of the two properties through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF), which MassHousing manages on behalf of the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
"It was Housing Solutions to the rescue," said Taunton Mayor Tom Hoye at a recent ribbon-cutting event for Carpenter's Glen, which like Cranberry Manor, needed a major makeover. "This (renovation) has been a godsend to the city. It's now serving our homeless and veterans and that made this project very worthwhile."
MassHousing Executive Director Tim Sullivan noted that the AHTF funding plays an important part in projects like Carpenter's Glen and Cranberry Manor because it closes gaps in the overall financing so that projects ultimately get completed.
"The Trust is ‘but for money,"' he said. "But for this financing, the development couldn't go forward. This is a beautiful project and it looks terrific. It's great to be part of this today."
Since its creation in 2001, the AHTF has provided $438.7 million in financing for 507 affordable housing communities involving 25,665 housing units.
Other funding sources for the Taunton and Wareham housing included federal LIHTCs, DHCD, MassDevelopment, Eastern Bank, the City of Taunton, the Town of Wareham, the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Bank and CEDAC.
"It's important to support what is happening on a local level," said Undersecretary of Housing and Development Chrystal Kornegay. "In addition to furthering affordable housing, we are working to make housing affordable to different levels of incomes and working families who want to continue to live here and work here."
Both are managed by HallKeen Management and the contractor was Essex Construction Corp.Carpenter's Glen is comprised of 32 units in seven townhouse-style buildings and Cranberry Manor is comprised of 24 units in four wood-frame buildings. Housing Solutions, formerly known as South Shore Housing, has owned the properties since the 1990s.
New Carpenter's Glen resident Courtney Morris, who with her mother and two daughters was formerly living in a Fall River homeless shelter, said she was "blessed and honored to be here. Now that I have secured affordable housing I can reach out for all the opportunities in front of me."