Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation | New Markets Tax Credit Coalition

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center

Through its tax-exempt bond and New Markets Tax Credits programs, MassDevelopment has invested $26.13 million in housing and health center projects in downtown Brockton. The Agency issued a $9.7 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of and provided a $7 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation to Trinity Financial’s Enterprise Block redevelopment; and issued a $9,431,000 tax-exempt bond on behalf of the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center. “Low-cost, innovative financings like these are crucial to the transformative redevelopment of Brockton,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “The City of Brockton, Trinity Financial, and the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center are all longtime MassDevelopment partners, and we’re pleased to spur economic growth in this Gateway City.” Trinity Financial, a Boston-based developer that is the project sponsor, will use bond proceeds to build a 42-unit artist live/work apartment building on the site of the former Gardner Building at 62 Centre Street. The New Markets Tax Credit allocation will finance Trinity’s rehabilitation of the historic Brockton Enterprise building, transforming the space into a 51,000-square-foot commercial building with retail space on the first floor. Trinity Financial’s multi-phase, transit-oriented revitalization of the Enterprise Block aims to preserve the historic and cultural heritage of downtown Brockton and promote sustainable mixed-use development that fits with existing infrastructure. The residential component of the revitalization effort includes 113 total units, an artist’s gallery, on-site property management, and an underground parking garage. “The Enterprise Block redevelopment project is a complicated undertaking that required some very creative and flexible financing in order to come to fruition,” said Trinity Financial Vice President Kenan Bigby. “MassDevelopment’s value was evident, not only in the financial resources that they made available, but also in the thoughtful and collaborative approach that their staff took in making this transaction work. Trinity is excited to see the positive impact that this project will have in the City of Brockton once it is completed.” Brockton Neighborhood Health Center will use bond proceeds to refinance previous debt, securing a lower interest rate for the Center and freeing financial resources for its healthcare services in low-income areas. MassDevelopment also provided a $25,000 grant to the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center in 2011 through the Agency’s Community Health Center Grant Program. Boston Private Bank purchased the Trinity bond, and RBS Citizens purchased the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center bond. “We’re thrilled to refinance our debt through the MassDevelopment tax-exempt bond program,” said Sue Joss, CEO of Brockton Neighborhood Health Center. “Our monthly mortgage payments have been cut in half, which will give us additional resources to invest in increasing our services to our patients and to our community.”

Meeting Street

Meeting Street was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in a severely distressed urban neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. The organization provides educational and therapeutic services to over 5,000 children annually ranging from birth to age 21, most of whom are low-income. The QLICI will finance the new construction of a 28,000 square foot addition to the existing 76,000 square foot facility. The purpose of the new addition is to provide ten new classrooms and other program space for sub-tenancy by Hope Academy Charter School, which was launched by the sponsor in 2014.

Brooks House

Vermont Rural Ventures partnered with the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, to provide $23.4 million in New Markets Tax Credit authority to redevelop and restore the historic circa 1871 Brooks House, a mixed-use commercial building located in the heart of Brattleboro’s downtown. Vacant as a result of a fire in 2011, the reinstated 80,000 square foot Brooks House revitalizes the downtown as it brings in over 350 students and faculty through anchor tenants Vermont Technical College and Community College of Vermont, residents from 23 mixed income apartments, retail and restaurant customers through the five ground floor commercial retail tenants and up to three restaurateurs, and employees through the one additional office tenant. The new Brooks House impressively welcomes residents and visitors alike with its modern amenities alongside its historical façade.

Commonwealth Dairy

In December of 2016, the Brattleboro Commonwealth Dairy plant announced another facility expansion project. The $20 million expansion is supported by more than $2 million in state and local funding and incentives. Commonwealth is pledging to create 50 more high paying jobs in Vermont and to significantly expand its manufacturing operations. This expansion includes over $600,000 from the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI), $200,000 from the Vermont Training Program (VTP) and $1 million from the Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP) distributed over three years to support job creation.

Lynn YMCA

The Lynn Y project comprises the land acquisition and new construction of 64,000 SF state of the art recreational facility in the city of Lynn, MA for the YMCA of Metro North. The new facility will house a wellness center, a family adventure and child watch center, a family aquatics center, gymnasium, indoor track, a kitchen, a licensed pre-school learning center, locker rooms and significant community meeting space. The new facility will allow the Lynn Y to deliver significant outcomes, which include, among others, an increase in annual members from almost 5,000 to 12,000, an increase in participants from 10,000 to 25,000, an increase in subsidized childcare slots from 77 to 140; an increase in: teens in employment training from 115 to 175, teens in first jobs from 155 to 350, youth in STEAM from 500 to 875, and youth served daily hot meals from 144 to 400; and average annual financial assistance to low income families from $500,000 to $800,000.

Thomas M. Menino YMCA

The historic Hyde Park YMCA (renamed Thomas M. Menino YMCA) officially re-opened in December 2010 after undergoing a major overhaul and expansion of the 107-year-old facility. MHIC’s $8.25 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing made possible the transformation of this Y into a modern, state-of-the art facility with a six-lane swimming pool, a new after-school center, a health and wellness center, and other major improvements. The dramatic upgrading of this historic facility is an important component of the revitalization effort underway in the Hyde Park Community that includes a new library, a community center and other improvements coordinated by the City of Boston Main Street Program. It is also integral to the YMCA’s plan to update and renew YMCA’s commitment to serve virtually all Boston neighborhoods. The Hyde Park Y serves more than 55,000 residents of the Hyde Park and Mattapan sections of Boston and is the only community facility within a three mile radius of the building. The improved facility will significantly increase the number of people served and the programs offered. The Y has plans to add new staff to support these higher levels of activity. The YMCA of Greater Boston is the largest provider of social services in the Commonwealth.

225 Centre Street

The 225 Centre Street project was the construction of a new mixed‐use property in the Jackson Square district of Jamaica Plain, an economically‐disadvantaged neighborhood near downtown Boston. The six‐story building has 103 rental units, 35 of which are affordable to lower‐income households, as well as almost 17,000 square feet of first floor commercial space and parking. The $53.2 million project is the first phase of a $250 million redevelopment plan for Jackson Square. The plan involves a mix of multifamily housing, retail and office space, recreational areas, and green space on 11 acres of public and private land adjacent to the Jackson Square Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) station.

Dudley Municipal Center

Construction is complete on the $115.9 million Dudley Municipal Center, considered a centerpiece of the City of Boston’s revitalization of Dudley Square in the economically disadvantaged Roxbury community. Most of the office space in the 170,000-square-foot facility is occupied by the Boston Public Schools administration in an effort to consolidate services currently scattered across the city and to better connect city government with residents. The multi-story LEED-certified building has an estimated occupancy of 450 to 500 municipal office workers as well as street-level retail space. The project’s design calls for preservation of a portion of the historic Ferdinand’s Building, which currently occupies the site and has been a community landmark for many decades. The project has served as a catalyst for additional development and economic activity in the community.

Baystate Medical Center

In 2009, MHIC provided $19.9 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing for construction of a new, seven story, in-patient medical facility with 126 beds for the Baystate Medical Center (BMC). The largest of the hospitals in the Baystate Health System, BMC is an academic teaching hospital that serves as the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine. The new, state-of-the-art medical facility, which will feature the latest advances in health care and sustainable construction, will enable BMC to significantly expand and update medical services available in western Massachusetts. It is expected to create 550 permanent full time jobs, increase local economic activity, and help stabilize the neighborhood. BMC is located in South Springfield, one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the Commonwealth. MHIC was one of six Community Development Entities that together are providing $107 million in New Markets Tax Credit financing. The $246 million project is also utilizing tax exempt bond financing. This NMTC project is the construction of a new 126 bed hospital buidling that is 7 stories and 638,993 sg ft. It is adjacent to BMC’s other facilities.

Apex Resource Technologies

A privately-owned company in western Massachusetts — Apex Resource Technologies — got an infusion of $5 million, giving the company the working capital needed to expand its business and workforce. In 2009, MHIC teamed up with Pittsfield Cooperative Bank to craft an innovative loan structure combining a bank loan with gap financing available through the use of the New Markets Tax Credit program. The bank provided a $1 million working capital loan to Apex Resource Technologies (Apex), and a $3 million loan to MHIC that was used to access an additional $1 million in tax credit capital, which was, in turn, loaned directly to Apex. Apex provides engineering, design and manufacture of injection molding products, including plastic components used in the medical, industrial and communications fields. It recently added a promising new product line of implantable medical devices for use in surgical procedures. Apex sought financing so that it could exploit opportunities for growth in the medical device and implantable industry. A company with world-wide sales, Apex currently employs approximately 60 people; it expects to grow 20-30 percent over the next few years.