MassHousing has provided $8.1 million in affordable housing financing to the non-profit Newton Community Development Foundation (NCDF), to preserve an d extend the affordability for lower-income senior citizens for at least 20 years at the 43-unit Casselman House in Newton.
“We were pleased to work with NCDF to preserve and extend affordability for these lower-income seniors in Newton,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay “Newton has some of the highest housing costs in the country and this transaction will ensure that this important affordable housing resource will serve older residents in the city long into the future, while deepening NCDF’s capacity to continue its mission-driven work.”
“All of us at NCDF are extremely grateful for the continued support of MassHousing and are pleased to have been able to preserve and extend the affordability at Casselman House. NCDF has partnered with MassHousing for over 45 years to develop and preserve several of the properties in our portfolio and we have benefitted from their financial support as well as their long-term investment in providing guidance and support to our property management team. This was our first venture with Rockport Mortgage Corporation and we were appreciative for the level of attention and expertise they provided throughout the process. We had a great team and despite the challenges of working remotely due to the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to close on the financing as scheduled,” said NCDF Executive Director Jeanne Strickland.
NCDF refinanced Casselman House through MassHousing’s Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP)/Ginnie Mae Joint Venture Initiative with lender partner Rockport Mortgage Corporation. MassHousing offers the MAP/Ginnie Mae loan program to the owners of rental housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD provides expedited Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance approvals through the MAP program. MassHousing surpassed $1 billion in cumulative MAP lending earlier this year, and the Agency has built the largest MAP lending program of any state housing finance agency in the nation.
The combination of FHA insurance and a Ginnie Mae guarantee enables borrowers to access taxable mortgage financing with lower interest rates, while preserving and extending affordability for hundreds of low-income individuals, senior citizens and families. MassHousing is providing NCDF with an $8.1 million, 35-year permanent loan.
“It is critically important that we collectively find ways to preserve housing stock for the most vulnerable members of our communities,” said Dan Lyons, President of Rockport Mortgage Corporation. “We are very proud and honored to have worked with Newton Community Development Foundation, MassHousing and HUD to preserve Casselman House as an affordable, age-restricted property for the next several decades.”
Built in 1981 and located at 195 Summer St. in Newtown, Casselman House consists of 43 one-bedroom apartments contained in a single residential building. All of the age-restricted apartments—except one—are subsidized by a federal Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract. One unit is occupied by a property manager. As part of the transaction NCDF has extended the Section 8 HAP contract on 42 units, ensuring affordability restrictions at the property will remain for at least 20 additional years.
Improvements planned or completed at the property include asphalt shingle roof replacement, rubber membrane roof replacement, the relocation of satellite telecommunications equipment and upgrading environmental remediation pumps and equipment.
MassHousing has financed 11 rental housing communities in Newton involving 1,283 housing units and $266 million in original financing. The agency has financed 141 home mortgage loans in Newton totaling $24.5 million in financing.
