MA Senior Housing Asset Extends Affordability With $45M Refi

Covenant House

MassHousing has provided $44.8 million in financing for Covenant House in Brighton, Mass. All 200 units built during the first two phases of construction will be renovated through the agency’s Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP)/Ginnie Mae joint venture initiative in partnership with lender Rockport Mortgage Corp. The senior housing property’s rental affordability will be extended through 2052, with significant upgrades planned at the B’nai B’rith Housing-owned property.

Located at 30 Washington St., Covenant House is roughly 7 miles from downtown Boston. Built in 1982 and 1992, Covenant House I and II feature studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments. According to Yardi Matrix data, amenities include a fitness center, a community room, a business center and 45 parking spaces. The non-profit plans to use the refinancing to execute several property improvements such as accessibility upgrades, the replacement of bathtubs with walk-in showers, computer lab and fitness renovations.

“This refinancing makes available additional resources that we can put to work to advance our mission of creating the high-quality affordable housing options that our region so desperately needs,” said B’nai B’rith Housing Executive Director Susan Gittelman, in a prepared statement.

To date, MassHousing has used lower-cost taxable MAP/Ginnie Mae financing to preserve affordability for nearly 5,600 low-income senior citizens and families, including at Symphony Plaza, a two-building affordable senior community on the southern edge of Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.

Image courtesy of Yardi Matrix