Governor Healey announces $62 million for new affordable housing in Massachusetts

Governor Maura Healey and other officials announced Wednesday that hundreds of affordable housing units will be created across the state, funded by $62 million in new state and federal grants.

A total of 12 affordable housing projects will be supported by the money, bringing 460 new units to Massachusetts. “Almost all” of those units will be reserved for low-income households, officials said, and 317 units will be reserved for “very low-income residents.”

Housing projects will benefit the chronically homeless, adults with disabilities, families transitioning from homelessness, vulnerable youth and low-income seniors.

“We are proud to support projects in every region of our state that provide permanent, supportive housing for families, seniors, veterans, youth and the homeless. This is the type of housing production we want to drive in communities across the state to reduce costs and solve our housing crisis,” Healey said in a statement.

In addition to the $62 million in direct grants, officials said new state and federal housing tax credits would create an additional $74 million in equity for the projects. Some of this money comes from funding for the American Rescue Plan Act.

The investment, the result of this year’s permanent supportive housing grants, was announced by Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and others at the headquarters of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation.

Three of the 12 affordable housing projects will be built in Boston. Wu said it will create more than 100 new units for the city’s elderly residents.

“Our seniors deserve to retire and live where they already live, and these three projects will help beloved members of our community stay in Boston,” Wu said in a statement.

Details on each of the winners, according to Healey’s office, can be found below:

• Hamilton at Mount Everett, a new construction project in Dorchester, will have 36 units for low-income seniors, including 16 units for very low-income seniors. The completed project will replace an existing abandoned house.
• Cheney Homes Apartments, a new construction project for seniors in the Grove Hall neighborhood of Boston. A total of 48 units will be built for low-income seniors, including 20 units for very low-income seniors. The Uphams Corner Health Committee will operate a health clinic on the first floor of the new building, which will serve residents and non-residents.
• 3371 Washington Street, a new seniors building project in Jamaica Plain. 39 affordable one-bedroom units will be built, including 12 for very low-income seniors. Described by officials as “transit-oriented,” the development will be two blocks from the MBTA’s Green Street Orange Line station.
• 170 Cottage Street, a new construction project in Chelsea, will have 66 units. Most of them will be two or three bedroom apartments, and 15 units will be reserved for homeless families. The development will be within walking distance of Bellingham Square and one block from the Eastern Avenue Silver Line stop of the MBTA.
• Forward at the Rock Phase 2, an extension of a project designed to serve autistic adults in Dennis. Eight additional units will be added.
• 60 Wells Street, a combined renovation and new build project in Greenfield. An existing state-funded homeless shelter will be renovated to accommodate 10 additional beds, and a new three-story addition will create 36 new studio apartments for the homeless. Shelter clients and permanent residents will have access to services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Hennessey House, an existing historic one-bedroom occupancy property in downtown Lynn. This property will be converted to include 51 studios with private kitchens and bathrooms. An elevator will also be added to the building. 23 studios will be restricted for people with very low incomes.
• Bracewell House, the renovation of a two-family house in North Adams. The existing building will be converted to accommodate seven units for homeless and at-risk youth and young adults aged 18-24.
• First Street Apartments, which will serve homeless adults in Pittsfield. Part of an existing church will be converted into nine homes and a resource center.
• West Housatonic Apartments, a new construction project in Pittsfield. People with very low incomes will have access to 28 new studios.
• 775 Worthington Street, a new construction project in Springfield. An existing one-storey building will be demolished and replaced by a four-storey building which will have 36 studios and a collective shelter with 40 beds.
• At 237 Chandler Street in Worcester, the second floor of a historic building will be converted into 20 studio apartments for the chronically homeless.