MassHousing has closed on $8.5 million in affordable housing financing to Dakota Partners, Inc., to support the final phase of development of the Woodland Cove housing community in Wareham.
The MassHousing financing for Woodland Cove Phase 2 will allow Dakota Partners to create 63 new affordable rental homes, including seven workforce housing units. Overall, Dakota Partners is creating 150 new mixed-income apartments at the eight-acre site on Cranberry Highway in Wareham. Phases 1 and 3 of the development are under construction.
“MassHousing is pleased to be part of this multiphase development that is creating new, affordable homes for households with a range of incomes who will be able to live, work and thrive in Wareham,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “We congratulate Dakota Partners on starting the final phase of this exciting new housing community and are pleased to be their partner in this important work of creating housing and economic opportunity for the Woodland Cove residents.”
“Woodland Cove—which is being designed and constructed as Passive House—will fill a critical void of affordable housing in Wareham and provide safe and comfortable homes to individuals and families who might otherwise be priced out of the area.” said Dakota Partners principal, Roberto Arista. “Dakota is proud to be working with MassHousing again to create much-needed affordable housing in Massachusetts that delivers on our mission to create housing that matters to residents, the community, and the environment.”
MassHousing is providing Dakota Properties with a $7.8 million permanent loan and $700,000 from the Agency’s Workforce Housing Initiative. Other financing sources include $11 million from the allocation of federal and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $1 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which MassHousing manages on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and approximately $2 million in direct support from DHCD.
MassHousing provided a total of $9 million in financing to Dakota Partners to support the development of Phase 1 of Woodland Cove, and $6.5 million in financing for the development of Phase 3.
Phase 2 will involve the demolition of the former Starlight Motel and the development of 63 affordable rental homes in three- and four-story buildings. There will be 11 one-bedroom apartments, 45 two-bedroom apartments and seven three-bedroom apartments.
Eight of the Phase 2 apartments will be supported by a federal Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment contract, serving households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). An additional apartment will be supported by the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program for a household earning up to 30 percent of AMI, 47 apartments will be restricted to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI, and there will be seven workforce housing apartments for households earning up to 80 percent of AMI. The Area Median Income for Wareham is $140,200 for a household of four.
Woodland Cove 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 Workforce Housing Initiative. Since the inception of the initiative in 2016, MassHousing has committed or closed workforce housing financing totaling $149 million, to 72 projects, located in 27 cities and towns, and advanced the development of 5,578 housing units across a range of incomes, including 1,509 middle-income workforce units.
The general contractor will be Dakota Partners, the Architect is Ed Wojcik Architect, Ltd, and the management agent will be Maloney Properties.
