Gov. Maura Healey joined other elected officials and stakeholders Friday, May 22, on site at 27/29 Hancock St. on Beacon Hill to announce new state funding for an affordable-home ownership project spearheaded by Fenway Forward.
“Today is about supporting first-time home buyers in Massachusetts,” said Gov. Healey. “We want Massachusetts to be a place where people can live, work, raise a family and build a future in the communities they love. Creating more homes for first-time buyers is an important part of that work. These projects will help turn underused properties into new homeownership opportunities while giving more families the chance to put down roots and build wealth here in Massachusetts.”
Fenway Forward – a nonprofit developer of affordable housing previously known as Fenway CDC – will redevelop two adjacent buildings located at 27-29 Hancock St., which were last used as lodging houses and have sat vacant for many years, into a total of 15 units at 80-100 percent AMI (Area Median Income) for new homeowners.
Suneeth P. John, Fenway Forward deputy director, said: “Fenway Forward is honored to receive support through the CommonWealth Builder program for the 27–29 Hancock Street project. This investment will help create permanently affordable homeownership opportunities in one of Boston’s most historically exclusive and high-cost neighborhoods. We are grateful for the support of the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Housing, and engaged resident stakeholders including the Beacon Hill Civic Association, and Homes on Hancock, whose partnership reflects a shared commitment to maintaining Beacon Hill as a vibrant and welcoming neighborhood.”
Advocates for the project have noted it will have a significant impact on Beacon Hill’s housing stock, since there is now only one affordable home ownership unit in the neighborhood.
Rep. Jay Livingstone, a longtime advocate for the Hancock Street project who was also on hand for the event, noted that the building had been falling into disrepair for years but that he was confident Fenway Forward would create a “beautiful building” in its place.
“Thank you Governor Healey, Secretary Matias, and MassHousing CEO Kornegay for making this award. Fenway Forward’s project will bring needed affordable homeownership opportunities to Beacon Hill,” said Rep. Livingstone. “I can’t wait to meet the new homeowners and welcome them to the neighborhood.”
This project was among four selected to receive a total of $24.5 funding via the state’s new CommonWealth Builder awards, which will help underwrite the creation 123 new affordable homes for first-time homebuyers in Boston and Brockton. Other Boston projects include Mission Hill Pathway, five-stories of new affordable housing planned for Mission Hill; and NUBA Homes, which will create 45 affordable condominium homes in a new six-story building in Roxbury.
The Affordable Homes Act included $100 million in new capital authorization for the CommonWealth Builder Program to support the creation of affordable homeownership units. The administration is also advancing the Massachusetts Homeownership Tax Credit, created through the Affordable Homes Act and administered by MassHousing, which provides up to $10 million a year annually through calendar year 2029 to support the development of new affordable homes.