Boston Chinatown Apartments to Keep Affordable Status
Chauncy House Apartments received $16.4 million in MassHousing Financing.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Boston—The 87-unit Chauncy House Apartments in Boston’s Chinatown will see the extension its status as affordable housing with the closing of $16.4 million in MassHousing financing. Currently, all the property’s units are affordable to lower-income families through the use of HUD Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment vouchers.
As a result of the MassHousing financing, the Section 8 subsidy will be extended at least 15 years. The property owner, an affiliate of The Community Builders of Boston, is also using the MassHousing financing to renovate the property.
The financing includes a $9.2 million construction and permanent loan, and a $7.2 million bridge loan. Other financing sources for the transaction were state and federal Historic Tax Credits and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
Chauncy House was built in 1922 as the Wendell Phillips Building and was converted from offices to housing in 1973 through HUD’s Section 236 Program. The 12-story building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, contains 22 studio and 66 one-bedroom apartments. The building also contains 3,400 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor as well as a community room for the residents.
The planned improvements include replacement of all windows, upgrades to kitchens and bathrooms, improved ventilation, replacement of the fire alarm system, replacement of domestic hot water storage tanks, and elevator upgrades. The building façade, which features ornamented glazed terra-cotta, will be power washed, patched and repaired. Also, five apartments will be upgraded to be fully accessible.
The contractor for the renovations is Bilt-Rite Construction. The architect is The Architectural Team and the management agent is The Community Builders.
