MassHousing has closed on $37.3 million in affordable housing financing to the joint venture of Sydney Capital Group LLC and Brisa Builders Development LLC for the development of the Singing Bridge Residences on a vacant parcel adjacent to the Chicopee River in Chicopee.
The new, mixed-income housing is part of Chicopee’s effort to redevelop the Facemate Property, a four-acre site formerly owned by the city on Main Street in Chicopee’s River Mills area. Following the completion of Singing Bridge Residences, the remaining portions of the property will be separately developed to add a sports complex, a brewery and an office building.
“MassHousing is pleased to be part of this opportunity to revitalize a vacant parcel from the city’s industrial past into 105 brand new apartment homes along the Chicopee River for residents with a range of incomes who want to live and work in greater Chicopee,” said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. “The Singing Bridge Residences will activate a vacant site, provide new housing options, and addvance climate resilience through a highly sustainable building design. We are thrilled to help advance this important project.”
“This impactful development was many years in the making, and it wouldn’t have happened without the support of our lender and public partner; MassHousing and the City of Chicopee. Syd Cap is very excited to be bringing 105 new units of housing to Western Massachusetts,” said Sydney Capital Group LLC Managing Member Hammad Graham.
“Brisa is honored to have been selected along with Syd Cap as the developers for this project. Singing Bridge Residences is particularly special because it represents Brisa’s first new construction development outside of New York City and the first mixed-income development constructed near the Chicopee River,” said Brisa Builders Development LLC Chairperson and CEO Ericka Keller.
Other financing sources include $31.6 million in equity from an allocation of state and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), $8.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act and Affordable Housing Trust Fund financing, $29.4 million in construction financing from Citizens Bank, and $900,000 in HOME and CDBG funding from the City of Chicopee. Enterprise Housing Credit Investments is the syndicator and investor of the federal tax credits and Dorfman Capital is the syndicator and investor of the state tax credits.
Singing Bridge Residences will be designed to Passive House standards and will approach net zero annual energy use as a fully electric building. In addition to the residential units, the building will include a community kitchen and lounge, an outdoor patio space overlooking the river, laundry facilities, and a small commercial space.
The project site had been owned by the city since 2010 and was part of a collection of parcels taken over by Chicopee after heavy industrial uses ceased in the area. The development team was selected by the city through a request for proposals process. It is in the historic Chicopee Falls neighborhood and is two miles from Chicopee Center with easy access to Route 33, Chicopee’s commercial corridor, along with Interstates 291, 391, and 90. There will be parking for vehicles and bicycles, and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority plans to relocate a nearby bus stop to be directly in front of the new building.
Of the 105 new apartments, 16 will be restricted to households earning up to 30 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and supported by the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, 23 apartments will be restricted to households earning up to 50 percent of AMI, 36 apartments will be restricted to households earning up to 60 percent of AMI and 30 apartments will be restricted to households earning up to 80 percent of AMI. There will be 16 studios, 21 one-bedroom apartments, 57 two-bedroom apartments, and 11 three-bedroom apartments.
The general contractor is Western Builders, the architect is Paul A. Castrucci Architects, and the management agent will be Appleton Corporation. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027.
