Braintree and Haverhill, MA (September 6, 2017) – Peabody Properties announced that it has received a commitment from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in the amount of $16.8 million toward construction of a new family housing project in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
The Haverhill project award, recently announced by Governor Charlie Baker, is one of 25 projects in 17 communities statewide to receive housing subsidy funds and additional state and federal tax credits; in total the Baker-Polito administration and the DHCD have committed a total of $72 million for the creation, rehabilitation, and preservation of 1,970 housing units across the Commonwealth, including 402 units reserved for very low-income families and families making the transition out of homelessness.
To be known as 98 Essex, the Haverhill project is being constructed through the partnership of Peabody Properties, Inc. and the Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, Inc. It will entail the adaptive reuse and historic renovation of the former Shoe and Leather Associates building located at 98 Essex Street; the building is also situated within both the L.H. Hamel Leather Company Historic District and the City of Haverhill’s Downtown Smart Growth Overlay District.
When completed, 98 Essex will feature 62 affordable and workforce housing apartments, with seven apartments reserved for households earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, and six apartments at workforce/market rate. Total cost of the Haverhill project is estimated at $25 million; in addition to the recently announced $16.8 million DHCD award, 98 Essex will be funded by the City of Haverhill, the North Shore Consortium and the Massachusetts Housing Authority.
“We are delighted over this outstanding commitment from the Baker administration and the DHCD which will allow us to move forward with a mixed-income project that will serve a significant number of families in Haverhill,” said Elizabeth Collins, Vice President of Development with Peabody Properties. “And we also applaud the City of Haverhill, MHA and North Shore Consortium for their financial assurances to a project that will mean much to many.”