Building on his commitment to creating and maintaining affordable housing in the City of Boston, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the preservation and the start of the rehabilitation of 97 affordable rental units at the Newcastle Saranac Apartments in the South End.
Newcastle-Saranac is an existing urban residential development comprising two, four-story buildings on two city blocks.
“In Boston, we are committed to creating safe, stable housing for all Boston residents. I am proud that, together with our partners, we have been able to preserve the affordability of 97 homes in Boston,” said Mayor Walsh. “We will continue to preserve and grow our affordable housing stock in Boston, and the acquisition and renovation of this building will ensure that residents living here will not be priced out of their homes.”
Through the joint efforts of CEDAC, MassHousing, and the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development’s Housing Preservation Program, the development was acquired by Fenway CDC in early 2019. Last month, the Fenway CDC and their development partner, The Schochet Companies, successfully finalized the financing needed to rehab the development, while preserving affordability in perpetuity by utilizing additional State and City resources.
“Closing on this project the midst of COVID-19 did not make this already very complex transaction any easier, but the public partners for this project truly went above and beyond to make sure it could close in time to get construction safely started. At one point I think we had someone from nearly every Department at the City working on this project – during COVID – to make sure it crossed the finish line,” said Leah Camhi, Executive Director of Fenway CDC. “I want to extend my sincerest gratitude and thanks to everyone at the City of Boston, CEDAC, MassHousing, and DHCD who helped make the Newcastle-Saranac Apartments project feasible. We could not have preserved and rehabbed these units without working with our public partners.”
The Schochet Companies provided development services for the transaction and will continue in that role through construction. Schochet also serves as the management agent.