A joint venture between WinnCos. and Brighton Marine—a veteran network community—has broke ground on the Residences at Brighton Marine, a $46 million Boston development that is set to offer housing and on-site services to local veterans.
The 102-unit property will be constructed on Brighton Marine’s campus along Commonwealth Avenue. The 1.4-acres site is scheduled for completion by December 2019. The transit-oriented community will provide apartments for all income ranges to qualifying veterans and their families that cannot afford to both work and live in Boston.
First of its kind
The Residences at Brighton Marine is the first of its kind to offer mixed-income housing in Boston since World War II, providing homes to those with extremely low-, low- and middle-income. The community will feature apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom floorplans, representing one of the largest private developments ever created for veterans with its 102 units. There will be 11 studios and 47 one-bedroom, 33 two-bedrooms and 11-three bedrooms. Of the total, 101 apartments will be situated in a newly developed, seven-story building and one unit will be located through the adaptive reuse of a historic building that will also offer a ground-floor community space.
The property is located near a job center and has created the first co-owned development featuring a for-profit (WinnCos.) and non-profit (Brighton Marine) partnership in the veterans housing field.
“Our administration is proud to support this important project, which will provide new affordable housing to veterans across a range of incomes, from homeless veterans to middle-income households,” said Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in a prepared statement. “The Residences at Brighton Marine will honor the service and sacrifice of Massachusetts veterans, by providing decent, safe, affordable homes, in a setting that will offer access to integrated health care and human services.”
Financing
Financing for the development includes funds from MassHousing, the city of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. MassHousing is providing a $9.4 million permanent loan, a $14 million bridge loan and $5 million from the agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative.
The DHCD will provide an allocation of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, $3.6 million in direct support and $3.7 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The city of Boston is providing $4.1 million in financing and Bank of America will provide a $31 million construction loan and is investing more than $24 million in private tax credit equity.
The Residences at Brighton Marine is a significant step in 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.
WinnCos. and MassHousing have worked together on several projects throughout Massachusetts. In February, MassHousing arranged $16.4 million in affordable housing financing for WinnCos.’ rehabilitation and long-term preservation of the historic 180-unit Wellington Community in Worcester, Mass.
Image courtesy of WinnCos.
