SPRINGFIELD – April 24, 2024 – Mayor Domenic Sarno, The Michaels Organization, and MassHousing today celebrated the completion of extensive renovations at the 201-unit Bergen Circle housing community in Springfield.
Michaels, which had taken over ownership and management of the Bergen Circle Apartments in 2021, embarked on approximately $17 million in property renovations to the eight-building community in the McKnight neighborhood.
"I want to thank MassHousing, especially CEO Chrystal Kornegay, who we have worked so well with on a number of housing initiatives, and The Michaels Organization for the significant improvements to the Bergen Circle property and for their continued belief and investment in our Springfield. My administration is committed to utilizing any and all means to boost our community's housing stock. This development checks every mark for our low- and moderate-income residents and market-rate housing," said Mayor Sarno.
"We are grateful to MassHousing for entrusting the modernization of Bergen Circle Apartments to us and we are proud to provide our residents with high quality, sustainable affordable housing," said Michaels' Vice President, Jed Henderson, who served as lead developer on the transformation. "We look forward to serving this community ensuring that this community is a place that families are proud to call home for generations to come."
"We are very pleased to join Mayor Sarno, The Michaels Organization, and especially the residents of Bergen Circle, to celebrate the new beginning of this important housing community in Springfield," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. "The renovation recently completed by Michaels has revitalized the property, which will now provide quality housing and economic opportunities for the Bergen residents for many years into the future."
"Congratulations to the residents of Bergen Circle as we celebrate the completion of this important project," said Rep. Bud Williams. "It took a great deal of collaboration and hard work to reach this milestone today but in the end that hard work resulted in this beautifully renovated building for the residents and the neighborhood."
The Michaels Organization is the largest private sector owner of affordable housing in the nation, with full-service capabilities in development, management, construction, and finance.
MassHousing provided Michaels with a $13.3 million construction and permanent loan and a $7.9 million repair loan. The improvements at Bergen Circle included building envelope repairs and water infiltration remediation, the installation of new windows, flooring and appliances, kitchen, bathroom, and HVAC upgrades, and replacing sanitary and water risers on the midrise building.
Located at 15 Girard Ave., 161 of the 201 apartments at Bergen Circle are contained in a seven-story, steel-framed building, and the remaining 40 apartments are in seven, two-story, wood-frame townhomes. There are 89 one-bedroom apartments, 72 two-bedroom apartments, 20 three-bedroom apartments and 20 four-bedroom apartments.
Of the 201 units, 170 are supported by federal project-based housing vouchers, with 118 of the units restricted to households earning up to 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 52 units restricted to households earning up to 80 percent of AMI. The remaining 31 apartments are rented at market rates. The Area Median Income for Springfield is $97,000 for a household of four.
The general contractor was Michaels Construction. The architect was Urban Practice and the management agent is Michaels Management.
About The Michaels Organization
Michaels is a national leader in residential real estate offering full-service capabilities in development, property management, construction, and investment. Serving 200,000 residents in more than 600 communities nationwide, Michaels is committed to crafting housing solutions that jumpstart education, civic engagement, and neighborhood prosperity, and to creating Communities That Lift Lives. For more information, please visit www.TMO.com.
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. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $30 billion for affordable housing. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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