Boston – MassDevelopment has selected The Community Builders (TCB), a national nonprofit housing developer based in Boston, as the developer for a 29-acre portion of a 35-acre parcel of residential land at Village Hill Northampton.
TCB, in collaboration with Valley Community Development Corporation, plans to build 65 apartment units and 2,500sf of commercial space on two Village Hill parcels.
In Village Hill Northampton, MassDevelopment has transformed a former state hospital into a community featuring office, retail, and manufacturing uses; market-rate and affordable homes and apartments; and a variety of open space and recreation areas.
To date, the property has 191 housing units, including single-family and multifamily homes, townhouses, and duplexes, along with more than 400 employees in several businesses.
“The Community Builders has successfully partnered with MassDevelopment on many housing projects throughout the commonwealth, and we are thrilled to work with them once again at Village Hill Northampton,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones.
Fifty-five percent of the apartments will be affordable to households earning 60% of the area’s median income, and the remaining units will be affordable to households earning 120% of the area’s median income.
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MassDevelopment also set aside a five-acre portion of the parcel for the Village Hill Cohousing Group, which had been working with the site’s previous developer, Energy Positive Homes, to develop co-housing. The Group will have seven months to search for a new co-housing developer. The Agency will retain ownership of a one-acre portion to develop five single-family houses, townhouses, or duplexes compatible with existing Village Hill Northampton homes.
“We are delighted that MassDevelopment has selected TCB to develop new workforce and affordable rental housing on this beautiful site,” said Eliza Datta, TCB’s regional vice president of development, New England. “We look forward to building on the success of our previous mixed-income development work at Village Hill and creating new opportunities for families of all incomes to live in this special community.”
Jones added, “This project will provide a variety of affordable housing options and valuable open space to Northampton residents. MassDevelopment is excited to work with TCB to make VHN even more vibrant.”
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2016, MassDevelopment financed or managed 352 projects generating investment of more than $4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 8,200 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 4,200 residential units.
The Community Builders has previously partnered with MassDevelopment at Village Hill Northampton in developing two apartment complexes, Hillside Place and Hilltop Apartments.
