98 Essex Street, Haverhill
Boston – MassHousing recently closed on $1.6 million in financing to the non-profit Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, Inc. and Peabody Properties, Inc., to support the construction of a new 62-unit, mixed-income development in downtown Haverhill at 98 Essex St.
The redevelopment of the vacant, historic Shoe and Leather Association Building will create seven units for formerly homeless families and six workforce housing units. The contractor for 98 is NEI General Contracting. The architect is The Architectural Team and the management agent is Peabody Properties.
98 Essex Street advances the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal of creating up to 1,000 new workforce housing units affordable to middle-income households through MassHousing’s $100 million Workforce Housing Initiative.
The project is also receiving $19.5 million in equity financing through allocations of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), and state and federal historic tax credits. The federal tax credits were syndicated by the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, while the state tax credits were syndicated by Clocktower Tax Credits LLC.
The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) allocated the state and federal LIHTC, and contributed an additional $2.5 million in direct affordable housing subsidy. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of DHCD, contributed $1 million to the project, while the City of Haverhill and the North Shore Home Consortium contributed an additional $365,365. Eastern Bank is providing $16.3 million in construction financing.
