Partially Affordable Senior Housing Opens in Massachusetts

Julia Bancroft Apartments opening ceremony. Image courtesy of Pennrose

Pennrose has completed Julia Bancroft Apartments, a 60-unit mixed-income, senior housing community in Auburn, Mass.

The age-restricted community caters to seniors aged 62 and over. Of the total, 45 units are affordable to residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income, seven of them being accessible units and four being allocated for community-based housing.

Pennrose started construction on the project, the redevelopment and renovation of a 1920s school building complemented by a new, four-story structure, in 2021. NEI served as general contractor.

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Designed by DiMella Shaffer Associates Inc. to meet LEED Silver sustainability standards, the property encompasses studio, one- and two-bedroom floorplans ranging between 480 and 910 square feet. Common-area amenities include a fitness center, a community room, outdoor patios and resident lounges. Apartments have modern kitchens, spacious closets and central air conditioning.

Located on a 3.2-acre site at 3 Vinal St., the property is west of Interstate 290, which provides direct access to downtown Worcester, Mass. Various dining options, shops and green areas are nearby.

Pennrose, together with Newport News Redevelopment & Housing Authority and the City of Newport News, recently completed the first phase of a partially affordable community in Newport News, Va.  The Lift & The Rise encompasses 81 units and six townhouses, with approximately 46 percent of the units designed as affordable.

Project financing

Pennrose brought Julia Bancroft Apartments to completion with the help of both private and public funds.

Private funds included:

• $14.2 million construction loan originated by TD Bank;
• $3.4 million in Freddie Mac permanent financing from Lument;
• $7.7 million loan from BlueHub Capital, according to Yardi Matrix data.

Public financing consisted of:

•  $1 million in affordable housing trust funds from the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency;
• $750,000 in community-based housing funds from the Community Economic Development Assistance Corp.;
• 9 percent federal low-income housing tax credits, state low-income housing tax credits, housing stabilization funds and HOME funds from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

The LIHTCs and SLIHTCs generated a total of $17 million in equity from TD Bank through syndicator Redstone Equity Partners LLC.