Two Affordable Housing Assets Snag $90 M Financing for Upgrades

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Blackstone Apartments and Franklin Square House Apartments, two affordable housing communities in Boston, will be redeveloped with the help of a $90 million investment made by the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT).

As reported by Commercial Property Executive, the fixed-income investment company will rehabilitate the 338 rental units at the two properties to keep them affordable for low-income residents for another 20 years. The project’s development costs rise up to $148, and AFL-CIO’s investment is part of a $168 million portfolio sale of affordable housing developments by MassHousing.

It is estimated that the redevelopment project will generate nearly 150 union construction jobs. CWC Builders Inc., the general contractor, will focus on exterior and interior repairs and improvements that would reduce the environmental impact of the buildings; other upgrades include additional insulation, new windows, as well as improved energy-efficient systems to conserve energy and reduce the buildings’ operating costs.

According to an official statement by AFL-CIO, all work at the two apartment communities will be performed under collective bargaining agreements with several local building and construction trade unions that haven’t been named yet.

The $90 million redevelopment investment at the Blackstone and Franklin Square House Apartments is part of the AFL-CIO’s Construction Jobs Initiative that aims to create over 1,900 union construction jobs in Boston and more than 13,500 jobs nationally. Through this initiative the company has invested more than $200 million in 21 projects in Boston over the last three years, as seen in the chart at right.

Images courtesy of www.aflcio-hit.com