BOSTON – Tuesday, April 25, 2023 – Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation, MassHousing, residents and funders celebrated the grand opening of The Loop at Mattapan Station. The Loop is a new transit-oriented, 135-unit affordable mixed-use housing community in Mattapan Square. The celebration included a ribbon cutting for the housing and for Daily Table, a community grocery store on the ground floor of the building with a mission to provide nutritious, delicious food below market rate prices. The Loop at Mattapan Station was developed on a vacant and underutilized MBTA parking lot adjacent to the Mattapan trolley line station.
"The Loop at Mattapan Station is a model for the mission-driven work of creating affordable housing for working families and building stronger Boston neighborhoods," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "Together with all of our partners, we have transformed this underutilized parking lot into a mixed-use, mixed-income, transit-oriented development with 135 beautiful new rental homes that will connect residents to economic opportunity for many years to come."
"We are eager to champion more projects like The Loop at Mattapan Station across Massachusetts, where public-private partnerships leverage state, federal, and local resources and produce transformative results on state-owned, underutilized sites," said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll. "There are opportunities in every region, and we are ready to invest. Our state has the tools with MassWorks, affordable housing tax credits, housing vouchers, planning grants, environmental remediation, and many more resources to jumpstart development. Congratulations to the MBTA, POAH, Nuestra Comunidad and the many other partners in making this project a reality."
The income-restricted units and 10,000 square feet of first-floor retail space were built using the latest passive house energy efficiency standards. The Loop helps to push forward Mayor Wu’s agenda to create more transit-oriented developments. The Loop is located next to a MBTA bus stop, the Mattapan Trolley stop and is a block from the Commuter Rail Station in Mattapan Square. It’s affordable to a range of incomes, with almost half of the apartments available to individuals at 50% AMI (area median income) and below. The Loop also offers amenities such as a gym, community rooms, roof deck, bike room, E-bike station and wifi/broadband access to all its residents.
"We are thrilled to welcome low and moderate income households to The Loop at Mattapan Station," said Aaron Gornstein, President and CEO of POAH. "These residents will also benefit from energy efficient apartments, recreational opportunities, public transit, and a new grocery store. We greatly appreciate the support of all our partners, funders and neighborhood residents who helped make this happen."
"The Loop's housing provides a crucial link between housing, transit, and economic opportunity. The building's passive house energy efficiency standards, along with its amenities make it a model for sustainable and inclusive development. I look forward to the positive impact that The Loop will have on the community," said Sheila Dillon, Chief of Housing.
The first commercial tenant, Daily Table, is a nonprofit grocery chain dedicated to providing fresh and nutritious food to communities most in need at prices everyone can afford. By partnering with a network of growers, manufacturers, and other suppliers, Daily Table is able to source high-quality food at low costs.
"We are thrilled to have opened our fourth location here in Mattapan, where we will continue to deliver on our mission to provide freshly prepared meals, a broad selection of fresh fruits, veggies, meats and seafood, and grocery staples all at prices that are truly affordable for any budget and SNAP eligible," said Doug Rauch, Daily Table Founder, and President.
"The Loop at Mattapan Station exemplifies the mission-driven work of MassHousing and all of our partners in creating affordable housing for working families and building stronger communities," said MassHousing Executive Director, Chrystal Kornegay. "We are pleased to join POAH, the Commonwealth, and the City of Boston in celebrating the new rental homes that will connect residents to economic opportunity for many years to come."
The Loop at Mattapan Station was made possible in part by $3 million from the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Housing, $39.3 million in tax credit equity from an allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), allocated by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). DHCD also provided $5.35 million in direct support for the project. The project also benefited from $1.8 million in public infrastructure funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and $540,000 in passive house funding from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. Bank of America provided construction financing and is the tax credit equity investor.
"Nuestra Comunidad is excited and proud to witness the fruits of our years-long labor and partnership with POAH," said N. Paul TonThat, Nuestra Comunidad's Executive Director. "Nuestra is confident that The Loop will significantly benefit the greater Mattapan community by providing transit oriented affordable housing opportunities and neighborhood centric retail."
MassHousing also provided $36.5 million in affordable housing financing for The Loop, including $17.4 million in permanent financing, $16.1 million in tax-exempt bridge financing, and $3 million from the Agency's Workforce Housing Initiative.
About the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH)
The Mayor's Office of Housing develops and implements the City of Boston’s housing creation and homelessness prevention plans and collaborates with local and national partners to find new solutions and build more housing affordable to all, particularly those with lower incomes. For more information, please visit the MOH website.
About POAH
Preservation of Affordable Housing is a Boston-based nonprofit organization that owns and operates more than 12,000 affordable homes at 115 properties in 11 states and the District of Columbia. For more information please visit www.poah.org.
About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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