Cruz Cos. Delivers $83M Affordable Project in Boston

March 4, 2024

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The property includes 11,300 square feet of office space to serve as the developer's new headquarters.

Cruz Cos. has opened Michael E. Haynes Arm, a 55-unit affordable housing community in Boston, named after a local civil rights leader. Financing for the $83 million project included a $17.4 million construction loan from Rockland Trust Co. and a $8.4 million note from BlueHub Capital, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Rising four stories, the property comprises studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans ranging from 587 to 1,440 square feet. More than 80 percent of the units are designated as affordable, including six residences for the formerly homeless. The community is subject to Section 42 LIHTC provisions applied in 2020 restricting rent through 2050, the same data source shows.

The 85,000-square-foot building includes some 11,300 square feet of office space which will serve as the new headquarters of Cruz Cos. The property also features a recreation and community room and kitchen facilities, as well as two levels of underground parking with bicycle storage and EV charging stations.

Michael E. Haynes Arm represents the first phase of a larger development. The second one, dubbed One Waverly, will encompass 48 affordable and workforce housing units, along with storefront commercial space and more parking. Located at 8 Clifford St., the development is less than 5 miles from downtown Boston.

Affordable housing faces development headwinds

In a recent interview, Cruz Cos. Senior Real Estate Project Manager Edgar Carrere told Multi-Housing News that this second phase will include residences restricted at 30, 50, 60, 80 and 120 percent of the area median income. This mix is outside the norm, as developers lose pro forma through having so many income levels in the same property, but the firm believes that truly mixed-income properties are a necessity in the multifamily market, Carrere added.

Founded in 1948, Cruz Cos. is a family business and one of the oldest Black-owned developers in the U.S. In the same interview, Senior Vice President Daniel Cruz Jr. told MHN that the main difficulty for affordable development in the current economic landscape is financial feasibility, as funding resources have remained scarce relative to the increase in construction costs.

Currently, there are 107 properties of more than 50 units in Boston, totaling 19,190 residences, according to Yardi Matrix information. Of the total, 12 percent represent fully affordable developments accounting for 2,300 units, while another 34.2 percent of the pipeline comprise partially affordable projects.