THE GARDENS BRIGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS 2020 FHLB BOSTON AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION | FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF BOSTON
PROJECT TEAM
NATALIA CHAVEZ
DAVID SONG
JANICE TOLBERT
NICK VACHON
MC/MPA Candidate Harvard University
MA Candidate
MPA Candidate Harvard University
MPP/MBA Candidate
Harvard University
HKS/MIT
LEONARDO COELHO
BENEDICT EZEM
JORDAN MOSHER
M.Arch Candidate Wentworth Institute of Technology
M.Arch Candidate Wentworth Institute of Technology
M.Arch Candidate Wentworth Institute of Technology
2 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
SPONSORS OXBOW URBAN LLC
COURSE PROFESSORS
FINANCE MENTOR
Kevin Maguire
Edward Marchant and Ann Borst
Bruce Ehrlich
B’NAI B’RITH HOUSING
ALLSTON-BRIGHTON CDC
DESIGN MENTORS
Susan Gittelman and Joseph Bamberg
Caitlin Robillard and John Woods
Tom Burns and Iric Rex
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are deeply indebted to the many individuals who gave us their time and insights in order to make this project possible. In addition to our amazing mentors and sponsors listed before, we are also thankful to Dana Dilworth from the Boston Housing Authority, Jason Desrosier at Allston-Brighton CDC, and Michael Sinatra from the Boston Planning & Development Agency for their understanding and advice about our site, Faneuil Gardens. We also appreciate the Office of State Representative Michael J. Moran for their insights and experiences with supporting public housing in the Boston area and particularly Brighton. Lastly, we are very grateful to the Faneuil Gardens Tenant Organization, Faneuil Gardens property management team, and Faneuil Gardens residents themselves for their assistance and willingness to help us understand their community and their needs. By letting us catch glimpses of how life at Faneuil Gardens is, and how they envision it to be, they have given us an invaluable opportunity to learn—not just as students of policy and design, but also as fellow neighbors and citizens.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 7
Executive Summary
8
The Vision: A Blossoming Diverse Community
9
Building a Vision Together: Stakeholder Engagement
10
Judging Criteria
CONTEXT 13
The Brighton of Yesterday: Reckoning with the History of Residential Segregation
15
The Brighton of Today: A Growing Affordability Crisis
16
Neighborhood Amenities
18
Bridging Divides: The Gardens as a Transport Hub
THE PROPOSAL 21
The Brighton of Tomorrow: Building for Inclusion
24
Community-Centered Design & Programming
30 Amenities 31
Improving the Quality of Life: Residential Services
32
The Gardens in Full Bloom: Community Life at the Garden
33
Zoning Strategy
34
Phasing Process
35
Economic Inclusion & Purposeful Financing
36
Development Budget
37
Sources and Uses
43
Five Year Project Timeline
CONCLUSION 44
The Gardens: A Place Where Diversity Truly Blooms
45 Bibliography 5
INTRODUCTION
6 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For 70 years, the current Gardens has served countless numbers of families by providing accessible, affordable housing as state-funded public housing. Speaking with several long-time residents, we have seen how the site carries a rich history and vital legacy of serving and raising some of the neediest families in Brighton. This legacy and mission are absolutely central to our re-imagining of the Gardens, as we address the pressing concern of reinvigorating an aging site that has successfully served its mission for seven decades. Neighboring rapid developments in Alliston and connected to downtown Boston, the Gardens as a site now faces a dual challenge and opportunity brought by economic progress: Can the Gardens expand upon its mission to provide diverse families access to housing that our most vulnerable Brighton community members are included, rather than excluded, from the growing wealth of opportunities in their neighborhood? The sense of crisis is urgent: Rents have increased by over 200% for family housing units, while one in four households in Brighton remain under the poverty line. While the Gardens’ neighborhood of Brighton has grown steadily more diverse over the decades, it still lags far behind the diversity of Boston at-large. As a current cornerstone of accessibility and diversity in its neighborhood, the re-imagined Gardens that we propose will directly face these urgent challenges.
OUR APPROACH TO THE CHALLENGES Our redevelopment of the Gardens seeks to modernize the aging site in order to better serve our currently residing low-income households, and ensure their continued access to the growing opportunities in the neighborhood. To achieve our goal of not only preservation but expansion of accessible housing, we have embraced a mixed-income housing approach to both serve workforce families and take advantage of market-rate unit demands in the area. By securing housing for our low-income and workforce residents, we envision the Gardens as a transportation hub connecting these households to opportunities in the Greater Boston area. The proposal’s larger vision of serving the needs of diverse families has also been informed by our outreach to the community, with plans for the development of community spaces for teen and children’s programming, a children’s play area, and green spaces. We hope to redevelop previous strong partnerships with organizations and institutions in the neighborhood to provide programming for families and children. With our reimagination of the Gardens, we hope our design supports broader efforts to address the housing crisis in Brighton and continues to carry forward our site’s original mission of inclusive, diverse family housing.
TOTAL UNITS: 351 Floors: 5 Buildings: 6 Studios: 82 1-Bedroom: 30 2-Bedroom: 203 3-Bedroom: 36 ELI and LI Units: 254 Workforce: 43 Market Rate: 54 DEVELOPMENT COST Total: $181,000,000 Per Building: $30,000,000 Per Unit: $493,000
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THE VISION A BLOSSOMING DIVERSE COMMUNITY PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR FUTURE DIVERSITY
THE GARDENS AS A TRANSPORT HUB
The Gardens brings a vision of diversity and economic inclusion to a community at a turning point. As Boston Landing catalyzes new development across Brighton, the redevelopment of Faneuil Gardens represents a critical opportunity to build a more integrated and more inclusive community. Our vision begins with re-branding, dropping the namesake associated with the Boston slave trade in favor of a simplified name. The Gardens acknowledges the legacy of the current site and its residents, emphasizes the community’s proximity to currently underutilized green spaces, and serves as a beacon for a renewed commitment to diversity in Brighton during a time of neighborhood change. New opportunities have facilitated a shift in Brighton toward a whiter, younger, wealthier, and more student-oriented community. Our vision for The Gardens seeks to ensure that expanded opportunity comes with expanded access and inclusion for families from all economic backgrounds.
Access to opportunity depends on access to transportation. We believe The Gardens has the opportunity to serve its residents and the surrounding neighborhoods as a vital transportation hub. Our design emphasizes walkability, cycling, and connectivity to Boston Landing Station and major bus lines, rewriting the historical narrative on public housing from one of racial and economic segregation to inclusive, community-wide access to opportunity.
HIGH QUALITY AFFORDABLE, FAMILY-ORIENTED HOUSING The cornerstone of the Gardens’ vision is the preservation and expansion of affordable, family-oriented housing stock in Brighton. We replace and improve the long-term affordability of the 254 existing state public housing units at Faneuil Gardens with 351 units across six buildings, while creating a unit mix that blends deeply affordable state-assisted and Projectbased Section 8 units with Workforce Housing and Market-Rate Units. The Gardens improves the ability of residents to access nearby McKinney Park and a central green space, playground, and expansive community center provide gathering spaces for residents from all buildings.
8 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
Current Site Photo Boston Housing Authorities Image
Current Site Photo Boston Housing Authorities Image
BUILDING A VISION TOGETHER STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak during the period of the 2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition, our community engagement team had to make significant changes to our process of contacting and engaging with key stakeholders for the Gardens. We recognized the importance of engaging with relevant stakeholders for understanding the housing needs of residents and neighbors in the Allston-Brighton area, but also acknowledged how pandemic responses at the local government, community, and household levels constrained social capital and capacity for any community engagement process. Still, we succeeded in interviewing an array of government officials, community non-profit organizations, residents, and the Gardens’ tenant organization in order to better understand the needs, hopes, and vision for the Gardens that key stakeholders hold. Below are highlights of the key considerations that we have drawn from our hours of engagement with residents and interested parties related to the Gardens.
HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
•
•
•
•
New & Modernized Family Units
Family-Oriented Common Spaces
Update and • improve 70-year-old apartment units
Expanded • community center • with spaces for children and teen’s programming
Modernize boiler heating system to meet • modern energy efficiency standards • Introduce solar panels and other green renovations
Children’s play area on-site Private study and meeting spaces scattered around buildings
Green and Open Spaces
•
Community garden Central outdoor space for community gatherings such as Unity Day Rooftop terrace for additional green and lounge space
Density Considerations
•
Follow stakeholder guidelines and keep maximum height of buildings below double-digits to reduce local political opposition
Fitness rooms
9
JUDGMENT CRITERIA PHYSICAL DESIGN
PROJECT FINANCING
INNOVATION
A former public housing complex has been reimagined for 2020. Community space with programming for kids and adults, a community garden, and large open space in the center of the complex provides various opportunities for residents to interact and build community. The Gardens opens up to McKinney Park, which is adjacent to the complex, giving kids and teenagers additional space for outdoor activities and sports. Ample bike storage and energy efficient laundry facilities encourage residents to minimize their carbon footprint. Large rooftop terraces with views of Boston gives residents a place to gather, while also accommodating solar panels that reduce the building’s carbon footprint while also reducing energy costs. Murals by local artists as well as outdoor lighting and furniture create a sense of community and encourage residents to feel a sense of belonging.
The complex financing structure allows us to build 351 units by phasing our project in three. Each phase will consist of demolishing the necessary existing buildings in order to build two buildings per phase, where each building is financed separately. Every building will be financed with a variety of sources of fundings, including either a 4% LIHTC or a 9% LIHTC. Our unit mix incorporates varying income levels in order to create a mixed-income community. All 254 units from the demolished Faneuil Gardens site will be rebuilt, plus an additional 97 units at market rate or 80% AMI that are designed to close the funding gap.
The Gardens is slated to be a vibrant, multigenerational community that the residents will be proud to call home. There is a community garden, an open green space, and murals throughout the sides of the buildings to create a sense of place.
10 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
The Gardens is also a transportation hub that provides residents access to opportunity and upward mobility. Its close proximity to transit allows residents of the Gardens to easily access downtown Boston and its job market. The Gardens residential complex will partner with community-based organizations who will provide residents with workforce and education training at the Gardens’ on-site community center. The community center will also be used to after school activities and can be rented by residents and the greater Boston community.
ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY
COMMUNITY RESPONSIVENESS
PROJECT FEASIBILITY
The Gardens is consistent with smart growth principles while also adhering to community needs. The site is denser than the former Faneuil Gardens site to make most out of Boston’s scarce land and also to take advantage of its close proximity to public transportation that connects the site to large employment hubs. Bike storage and an electric carshare program promotes additional transit options that are environmentally responsive. The construction materials are locally sourced and sustainable. Cross-laminated timber construction reduces our project’s overall carbon footprint. We use No VOC paints, coatings, primer, adhesives or sealants. The rooftop solar saves significant amounts of energy which reduces the development’s carbon footprint. All units come equipped with energySTAR appliances and the buildings are LEED Gold Certified, meaning they use 25% less energy.
The physical design and programming are the result of research and conversations with residents, community-based organizations, and government officials. Units and common spaces are designed for low-income and workforce families, while also being attractive to market rate tenants, including young professionals. While physical outreach was limited due to Covid-19, we conducted in-depth research on the history of Allston-Brighton and public housing. That research, combined with the interviews we conducted provided a direction for the design and implementation for the Gardens including modernized units, green spaces, and a redesigned multi-purpose community center.
In order to blend the Gardens into the neighborhood, our design takes the surrounding buildings’ height and design, as well as the public realm, into account. The mix of affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing provides housing for those that are most rent-burdened, while also incorporating higher income households to offset the operating expenses. While this project includes an increase in density and would require a zoning variance, we believe our request is reasonable due to the current housing crisis and the City of Boston’s goals for housing production. Additionally, the Allston Brighton CDC, one of our project sponsors, has close relationships with stakeholders in the AllstonBrighton area and has experience increasing the supply of affordable housing. Their expertise and relationships further strengthens the ability to execute this large project.
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THE CONTEXT: FROM A HISTORY OF EXCLUSION TO A FUTURE OF INCLUSION
12 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
THE BRIGHTON OF YESTERDAY RECKONING WITH THE HISTORY OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION “Good history is a good foundation for a better present and future.” ~ John Hope Franklin
A POLITICS OF EXCLUSION IN BOSTON’S PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS Faneuil is a unique place. To truly understand its history requires a grappling with the legacy of residential segregation. The history of public housing in Boston parallels that of other major cities in the United States. It shares a legacy marred in displacement, discrimination, and exclusion (Vale, 2000). Though touted as affordable housing for low-income residents, public housing often fell short of this mandate in the early and mid-part of the twentieth century. For many years, Boston’s public housing was available to the white working poor (Vale, 2000). The city often used arbitrary measures, such as a family’s composition or worthiness, to determine occupancy (Vale, 2000, 143-147). Over time, Boston’s public housing has undergone several phases and served a variety of purposes—from helping to promote employment, improving slum conditions, housing defense workers and veterans, to its present form of serving the truly disadvantaged (Vale, 2000). Like Faneuil, several public housing developments in Boston have aged and evolved over time.
Faneuil Gardens was born out of a movement to house veterans returning from the Second World War (Vale, 2000, 227-228). To offset the housing shortage, the city of Boston used federal and state dollars to fund seventeen veteran housing developments (Vale, 2000, 227-228). Like the majority of public housing developments in Boston at the time, the 258-unit building was situated in a white neighborhood, which made it exclusively for white families with modest means (Vale, 2000, 227-228). With the exception of a few housing developments to accommodate black and brown families, Boston’s public housing was primarily designed for a select racial group. Backed by the federal government, the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) helped maintain a system of residential segregation, subjecting families of color to inferior accommodations with limited access to public amenities (Vale, 2000). For example, of the 3,686 public housing units built under the state program, “all but 129 were occupied by whites” (Vale, 2000, 287-288). According to one longtime resident, Faneuil Gardens would not see significant changes in its racial composition until the 1980s.
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SHIFTING THE TIDE: A NEW ERA OF INTEGRATION Though the history of public housing is tainted by the discriminatory policies of the past, Faneuil Gardens is now home to a diverse residential community For the walls of segregation to fall in Boston’s housing projects, it would require years of legal advocacy by local civil rights organizations (Vale, 2000). Despite state lawmakers passing legislation in 1950 forbidding segregation and discrimination on the basis of “race, color, creed, or religion,” BHA would continue its practice of residential segregation until gradually shifting gears a decade later (Lawrence, 2000, 283-385). Like other public agencies, BHA moved with “all deliberate speed” with desegregating its public housing. Integrating state projects like Faneuil proved to be a much difficult task with state officials strongly favoring white occupancy (Vale, 2000). Pressured by various activist groups, Boston’s mayor made a critical move when he decided to appoint a progressive to the agency’s administrator’s post in 1963 (Vale, 2000, 290-291). Despite facing resistance from the Board, the new political appointee was able to mobilize BHA to adopt new reforms. Soon after the appointment, BHA adopted a number of integration strategies including the new “Occupancy Standards” which replaced the racially biased selection process with a less discriminatory approach (Vale, 2000, 296-297).
Though many of BHA’s developments still reflect some form of racial imbalance, Faneuil Gardens is now home to a fairly diverse residential population––with nearly half Hispanic, almost a third black, and about a fifth of the population White or Asian. Moreover, Faneuil is a multiethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-generational community that houses more than ten different languages and families of various age groups. From a history rooted in exclusion, Faneuil is on track to becoming a model for future public housing: one that truly represents a vibrant, kaleidoscopic community.
14 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA Age
Residents
%
0-5
59
9.2%
6-17
191
29.8%
18-64
354
55.2%
65+
37
5.8%
HOUSEHOLD PRIMARY ETHNICITY Asian
Black
White
Hispanic
12%
36%
9%
42%
THE BRIGHTON OF TODAY A GROWING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES The neighborhood of Brighton, in which the Gardens has slowly grown more diverse over the years. Situated just south of the Massachusetts Turnpike and the Charles River, the neighborhood surrounding Faneuil Gardens has experienced considerable changes over the past decade as economic forces radically transform both Allston and Brighton. Since the turn of the millennium, the Allston-Brighton area has been documented as having less diversity, fewer families, and a far younger and poorer population than the rest of Boston. Even looking as recently as 2010, 75.3% of Allston-Brighton residents identified as white, in contrast to 57.8% in Boston. With a median age of 23.8 years old and 53.2% of all residents enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs in 2010, the Allston-Brighton area lives up to its reputation as a neighborhood full of students. But over the past decade, the Allston-Brighton area has undergone radical changes in diversity. By 2018, the net percentage of white residents decreased to 66.27%, while Asian and Hispanic populations continued to grow, making up 16.7% and 14.6% of residents respectively. Families
with children under 18 years old still made up a small minority of residents, at a persistent 10% of the population—in contrast to 20% seen in Boston overall—but more non-student residents have moved into the area by 2018, dropping the percentage of student residents to 44.3%.
RECENT DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING CRISIS: A RAPIDLY CHANGING MARKET Rapidly rising rents for family housing in the Brighton neighborhood places increasing financial pressure on the quarter of residents who are below the poverty line. The steady drift towards diversity in AllstonBrighton has accompanied the tectonic shifts in the area’s economic landscape as private developers and institution actors such as Harvard University spur rapid development of the area. Since receiving approval for its Allston campus in 2013, Harvard has continued to expand its institutional footprint in Allston with its newly finished Science and Engineering Complex and upcoming development of its Enterprise Research Campus. Closer to Faneuil Gardens, in 2019 the BPDA also recently signed off on the Allston Yards development next to the Boston Landing station, one of the largest developments in Allston-Brighton’s history at more than 1.2 million square feet.
“Harvard’s expansion is changing the dynamics of the neighborhood completely. All these other developments would have never happened otherwise.” - Jen
26%
Population Living in Poverty
23.8
Median Age
33.7%
Non-White Residents
“We’re building a lot of housing, but very, very, very little of it is as affordable in the district.” ~ Liz Breadon, Allston-Brighton City Counselor 15
NEIGHBORHOOD AMENITIES
3 7
1
2
4
5
6
1
THE GARDENS
2
WARRIOR ICE ARENA
3
HARVARD SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
4
ALLSTON YARDS
5
ALLSTON SQUARE
6
ALLSTON SQUARE
7
HARVARD ENTERPRISE RESEARCH CAMPUS
KEY Miles 0 0.07 0.150.30.450.6
Miles 0 0.07 0.150.30.450.6
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community
Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community
16 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
The rapid growth in developments over the past decade have put considerable pressure on renters, and as the neighborhood continues to grow wealthier and more expensive, there are real fears of increased displacement risk and shortage of affordable family housing options. Despite having 26% of its residents below poverty in comparison to 9.2% in Boston overall), the Allston-Brighton area has seen a sharp increase in wealth among its residents. Between 2010 and 2018, median household income increased from $29,138 to $66,951, a shocking 130% increase in 8 years. Along with the increase in wealthier residents moving to the area, increased demand for housing in the Allston-Brighton area have greatly increased rent, particularly for familyhousing-sized units. In HUD’s latest 2020 figures on fair market rents (FMR), the FMR for two-bedroom units doubled between 2012 and 2020 from $1420 to $2860, while the FMR for three-bedroom units increased by 108% from $1700 to $3560. For a household to avoid being qualified as rent burdened, they would require an income of $114,400 per year for a two-bedroom unit—nearly double the median household income in Allston-Brighton.
While higher rents accompany higher incomes in Allston-Brighton, for many long-term residents who are unable to take advantage of the explosive development in the area, these sharp increases in rent present a crisis of affordability that threatens Allston-Brighton’s steady trajectory for greater diversity over the years. Homeownership in Allston-Brighton is exceedingly low: 83.6% of residents lived in renter-occupied housing in 2018. With ever-increasing demand for housing in AllstonBrighton with its vibrant economic growth, renters face a housing market over which they have little leverage or say over. Between 2010 and 2018, the percentage of rental vacancies in Allston-Brighton dropped from 8% to 1.9%, pointing to the reality that housing supply is not keeping up with demand.
What Faneuil Gardens’ neighborhood of Brighton faces currently is a true affordable housing crisis. While rapid development brings new, wealthier neighbors, longer term residents and particularly families with children face daunting prospects with an incredibly tight housing market and ever-increasing rent. Our mission in revitalizing Faneuil Gardens will address this pressing need by building a site that can act as a model for diversity and accessibility. Our hope is that the Gardens provides a central hub that connects families of all backgrounds to the growing economic opportunities of the Allston-Brighton area, and continue to foster a more diverse, more vibrant neighborhood.
“At community meetings right now, the push for more family units is the big talking point right now. There’s a real need for more affordable familyoriented housing that’s accessible to even our most vulnerable citizens” – State Rep Office
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BRIDGING DIVIDES THE GARDENS AS A TRANSPORT HUB SITE CONTEXT Our vision of the Gardens as a transportation hub for mobilizing and connecting families to opportunities is concretely grounded in the geographic and spatial orientation of the current site. Located on 266 North Beacon Street, the current 7.58-acre site of the Gardens is spatially located near the border of Allston and Brighton, just a stone’s throw away from some of the most vibrantly growing neighborhoods in Boston. While nearby institutional and commercial developments have placed immense rent pressure on the housing market within which the Gardens is situated, they also present immensely rich opportunities that residents of the Gardens can continue to tap into through our goals of maintaining and expanding affordable housing with our proposed project.
TRANSPORTATION: ACCESSIBILITY TO OPPORTUNITY The Gardens is served by a variety of public transit options within easy walking distance from the site, making the Gardens an ideal family housing location for providing access to many opportunities.
The 64 bus line’s North Beacon stop is directly in front of the site, connecting residents to Cambridge and the MBTA Red Line at Central Square. Additionally, the 86 bus stop along Market Street is less than four minutes away by walking, connecting the site to the Red Line via Harvard Square and the Orange Line via Sullivan Square. These bus lines provide valuable access to the burgeoning economic growth in Allston and Cambridge driven by institutions such as Harvard University, as well as provide opportunities to build stronger relationships with these academic institutions for possible on-site programming and volunteers. As we will describe later, there are many possibilities for rekindling a formerly impactful relationship with local universities for mentorship and tutoring programming at the Gardens. The Boston Landing station, served by the MBTA commuter rail, is also a 13-minute walk from the Gardens, providing a direct line to the heart of Downtown Boston and its rich array of employment opportunities, public amenities, and commercial areas. But beyond serving as a connection to downtown, Boston Landing itself has become a central hub for development in the neighborhood of the Gardens. Zoned as a Planned Development Area (PDA), the Boston
18 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
Landing complex includes a wide variety of existing and planned commercial facilities. In addition to the newly opened Warrior Ice Arena, other construction is underway for the New Balance headquarters, a hotel, and a variety of shops. Near the Boston Landing station, the 10.6-acre Allston Yards development has also been recently approved on the site of the Stop & Shop supermarket. With expanded retail and restaurant space, including a new Stop & Shop, Allston Yards’ proximity to the Gardens provides residents with easy access to fresh groceries. Several other grocery and convenience stores are also within easy walking distance from the Gardens.
“I’m a walker, so everything is very accessible--the grocery store, the mall, Brighton Center, hospitals, parks, and the Charles is right over there--I can walk to any of them, so I just feel we have everything - Current resident of the Gardens
AMENITIES FOR FAMILIES AND RESIDENTS As a housing development tailored for families, the Gardens is situated in a location with close proximity to public amenities and other resources for residents with children to readily utilize. Various current residents cited the Oak Square YMCA and Faneuil branch of the Boston Public Library, a 20-minute walk from the site, as important resources for their children. As seen in the following map, more libraries and local schools are in close proximity to the site, providing easy access for families with schoolage children. Additionally, immediately south of the Gardens is McKinney Playground, with a baseball field, basketball court, and street hockey court that are often used by residents. The Gardens also has several hospital and medical service centers within a one-mile radius of the site, including St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, Francsican Children’s, and Spaulding Rehabilitation. In addition to offering potential opportunities for workforce employment, the proximity to medical centers can be invaluable for both residents with children and those who are aging in place for access to medical care.
For working-age and senior residents, the Gardens provides accessibility to other important nearby public amenities. The AllstonBrighton Resource Center resides one mile north of the site and hosts a range of job and career fairs. For senior residents, the nearby Veronica B. Smith Senior Center provides health and nutrition services, in addition to comprehensive programs targeting seniors through seminars and workshops. 16
MBTA_Bus_Stops Cambridge
MBTA_Routes Existing_Bike_Network_2019
Boston_Street_Segments SPEEDLIMIT
Watertown Town
1 5 10 50 100 MicrosoftBuildings_Clip tl_2019_25_place_1 Green Line Commuter Rail
Boston
Brookline
Newton
Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community
0 0.070.15
0.3
0.45
Miles 0.6
19
THE PROPOSAL
20 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
THE BRIGHTON OF TOMORROW BUILDING FOR INCLUSION “Affordable housing brings stability, economic diversity, and improves the physical quality of the neighborhood.” ~ John Woods Our mission at the Gardens in relation to our future residents is two-fold: 1) Affordable access and 2) Inclusion. Affordable Access: How do we improve the lives of our existing 641 residents and ensure that they continue to have access to the growing opportunities in the Allston-Brighton area while living in quality affordable housing Inclusion: How can we go above and beyond to extend more housing to a diverse range of households so that families are included— rather than excluded—from the benefits of vibrant development? Through our community engagement process, we found the following four target demographics that align with our two-fold mission of affordable access and inclusion.
TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS Low-income Families: One of our most important populations that the Gardens will be serving is the existing community of extremely low- and low-income families that currently reside at our site. We have explicitly prioritized one-to-one replacement of units at their current levels of affordability to ensure that residents who currently reside at the site can continue to have access to the opportunities that the Gardens provide. We also include in these units a 10 percent set-aside for individuals and families transitioning from homelessness.
“My two boys are all grown up now and have tried going out into the world—but they came back to live with me because they can’t afford to live [in Boston] with the rents this high.” – A resident at the Gardens Seniors Aging in Place: Similar to other statefunded public housing, the Gardens currently have a small but growing senior population who have lived in this community for decades. Often having successfully raised children and becoming one or two-person households, these residents look for a future Gardens where they can age in place with the community
that they have known for most of their lives. Additionally, with the Gardens’ role as a transportation hub, senior residents can benefit from nearby resources and amenities that are readily accessible from the Gardens. Providing affordable units designed for smaller, childless households will be critical for our residents seeking to age in place. Workforce Families: In our mission to expand access to opportunities for a diverse range of families, we seek to also attract workforce families for the new 80% AMI units that we plan to add with the expansion of the Gardens. As a transportation hub with bus and rail connections to key urban centers such as Boston Downtown and Cambridge, the Gardens can ensure that workforce families who may be otherwise priced out of the Brighton neighborhood can have affordable options for raising children while engaging in the vibrant economic growth of Allston and downtown Boston. Opportunity locations such as the Gardens’ neighborhood should be accessible to a diverse range of families from all backgrounds, and our future vision of the Gardens hopes to achieve that vision.
21
Market Rate Tenants: Aligning with broader state-level priorities, we acknowledge the importance of mixed-income housing, not only for the financial feasibility of our project, but also due to the recognition that even middleincome working households who seek to live in highly desirable metropolitan areas face housing burdens. By contributing to the wider market-rate housing supply, we believe that we can contribute positively to the growing demand for housing in the Allston-Brighton area and help alleviate supply-side constraints. As seen in our earlier demographic and market analysis, the area’s extremely low vacancy rates point to the real need for any increase in housing supply. Our mix of affordable, workforce, and market-rate units thus seeks to tackle Boston’s housing challenges from several different angles while maintaining a fiscally viable and economically strategic investment in public dollars.
KEY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FROM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT From our engagement with residents, government officials, and other community stakeholders, we have found four key priorities for our redesign of the Gardens: Modernized family units, family-oriented common spaces, green and open spaces, and density considerations.
NEW, MODERNIZED FAMILY UNITS As various residents and community development organizers have mentioned, the Gardens is composed of ten 70-yearold buildings that are badly in need of revitalization. One common complaint has been with the aging boiler system used to heat units on the property. While stakeholders have pointed to the boiler system’s inefficiencies as the main problem, others have noted how the aging system has contributed to the more rapid deterioration of tiling and other in-unit issues due to leakages. Additionally, various stakeholders have discussed their desires to modernize unit sizes to match contemporary standards.
easily supervise children while staying on the grounds of the Gardens. Lastly, stakeholders mentioned the preference for having familyoriented units being closer to the ground floor, such as two- and three-bedroom units
GREEN AND OPEN SPACES Community members at the Gardens also prioritized green spaces as an important aspect of our redesigned site. Since the current site of the Gardens currently has low amounts of green space coverage, we plan to meet residents’ desires for more trees and plants to be added for the beautification of the site. There is also strong interest in developing a community flower garden or other non-produce growing garden concepts.
FAMILY-ORIENTED COMMON SPACES As a site oriented towards family housing, the new design of the Gardens will have spaces for both children and teenagers. Residents mentioned the importance of the current teen center, which the redesigned Gardens plans to expand upon. The new community center not only will have a large common area for facilitating programming for teenagers but will also have smaller spaces for studying and group study session included. Additionally, several residents with younger children expressed a desire for a proper play area for the children on site, where older residents can
22 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
Additionally, stakeholders were vocal about the importance of ensuring common open spaces on the redesigned site for holding communitywide outdoor events such as the annual Gardens’ Unity Day. Having expanded over the years to include the wider neighborhood, Unity Day has had over 200 attendees in the past. Our redesign of the Gardens prioritizes setting aside open spaces for the community to be able to continue hosting large-scaled community events such as Unity Day.
“We’re a diverse community, but we’ve become more insular [over the years]. I’d like people to engage more, to go outside their houses and stay in the courtyard. Somewhere where they can be out in groups while children are playing, and someone would just ask ‘Oh, can you watch so-and-so for me?’ I’d like a space for more of that shared life.” - Tenant Organization Member
DENSITY CONSIDERATIONS Due to the recent growth of high-rise, highdensity projects in the past several years near the Brighton neighborhood, stakeholders have described optimism in our project’s more modest design with relation to density. With a height under 70 feet and 5 stories tall, our redesign of the Gardens falls well within the current neighborhood’s comfort zone for development density. As one political stakeholder noted, “It’s really anything in the double-digits, higher than 10 stories, that gets the people in Allston-Brighton worried.” Additionally, others cited the easier community process with the recent 2Life Communities’ Brighton campus development as a strong indicator that Brighton neighbors are supportive of denser affordable housing in the area.
23
24 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
COMMUNITY CENTERED DESIGN & PROGRAMMING SITE STRATEGY One of the site strategies we wanted to address was the extension of green space with an adjacent park across Faneuil Street into the residential blocks. Connecting it back with the neighborhood was a concept that we wanted to hold tight. The Masspike has direct views into our site as well as north beacon street that connects to the financial district of Brighton, establishing a street facade for the future development of Brighton was deemed important for us.
GROUND FLOOR On the ground floor of the Gardens, five of the six building blocks will have residential units to address the corresponding residential neighborhood as well as maximize space. The remaining north-eastern building block will be dedicated to the state-of-the-art multi-purpose community center that offers the current users an improved meeting area for residents and space for afterschool programs. It consists of a large convertible meeting space, two classrooms, table sports games, and a cafe that offers proceeds to fund various programming. The community center opens up to the outside to be an open market connecting to the playground and community gardens. Small fitness rooms and laundry are also offered throughout the building blocks providing key amenities for the residents. 25
COMMUNITY CENTER
26 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
PICTURE OF 2ND FLOOR LAYOUT & 3RD-4TH FLOOR LAYOUT
27
UNIT PROGRAM
28 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
ROOFTOP VIEW
29
AMENITIES In listening to residents, we learned that they wanted public amenities that would strengthen the bonds of the community.
COMMUNITY GARDEN This allows residents of the Gardens to actually have space to grow their own community garden. Some of the fruits and vegetables can be used when the public market is open. This promotes interactions between residents with similar hobbies to create a greater connection between one another.
COMMUNITY CENTER
PRIVATE STUDY AND MEETING ROOMS
The community center offers additional meeting spaces for residential meetings, after school programming and provides activities for the local children and teens within the Gardens. This consists of a convertible meeting space, a lounge area, table sports games, two classrooms and access to the outside to provide space for community events, such as the annual Unity Day event, a public market, and BBQ’s on a warm Boston afternoon.
Connecting each building pair are glass vestibules with meeting rooms where there are a series of private spaces to offer quiet areas for studying or even an important business call. The private spaces as well as the two classrooms in the community center can be signed up for via online if residents want to book on a specific day or time.
PLAY AREA FITNESS ROOM The fitness room will be available not only to the residents, but also for the youth center. This is where the youth can learn about physical health and wellness while being able to also understand proper lifting techniques.
Several current residents expressed the importance of an on-site playground for young children. Driven by concerns of keeping children in areas with adult supervision and away from traffic, we have designed the Garden’s central play area to be visible from the community center and integrated with the larger open common space.
30 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE RESIDENTIAL SERVICES In our state-of-the art multi-purpose community center, residents can access an array of services headed by our in-house service coordinator and team.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT The Gardens will be a place where career growth and economic uplift is possible. The new site will include a workforce development program that will help improve the economic mobility of low-income residents through the provision of essential career services. Program activities will include GED classes, career coaching, job preparation assistance, computer literacy workshops, and ESOL classes for individuals who desire to learn English. The residential services coordinator will be instrumental in matching local employer demands and industry trends with residents’ needs and interests. Similar to the CVS partnership in Worchester, Massachusetts, we envision the Gardens engaging in an individualized employment partnership with a local business to provide workforce training and internship opportunities.
TEEN EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
SENIOR PROGRAMS
The Teen Center is really close to the residents’ hearts. Where the program once had a partnership with Boston College, unpaid youth volunteers now help to keep the program alive. At the Gardens, the investments made will be continued through the Teen Empowerment Program. Continuing the work of the Teen Center, the program will support the growth and development of youth ages 13 and older. College access and readiness services will also be made available. Potential partners to facilitate programming include the local YMCA, Boston College’s College Bound Outreach Initiative, or the American Student Assistance.
Our senior residents are the backbone of our community. Various programming will be offered to enhance their quality of life while bridging the intergenerational divide. Seniors will have the opportunity to participate in weekly game nights and monthly field trips such as to the local library. To “forge longlasting and life-changing intergenerational bonds,” the Gardens will participate in the Senior Companions program funded by the Corporation for National Community Service or launch a similar program that connects senior residents with the younger in-house population.
YOUTH OPPORTUNITY HUB To satisfy the curiosity of young and active minds, the Youth Opportunity Hub will be open to children ages 12 and younger. The Hub will offer homework assistance, mentorship, summer programming, and a host of exciting social activities to support youth development. The program will draw from its current partnership with the Abundant Grace Church in Boston to support tutoring and mentorship. As one longtime resident emphasized, it’s important to expose youth to positive role models. The Youth Opportunity Hub seeks to achieve just that. 31
THE GARDENS IN FULL BLOOM COMMUNITY LIFE AT THE GARDENS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
SMART GROWTH
At the gardens, we understand the need for environmental sustainability and are actively trying to reduce our carbon footprint on the Planet. Embodied energies are one of the biggest impacts for Co2 emissions, in result we are sourcing our brick, wood and other materials locally within New England so stray away from long distance transportation. The windows consist of low e glass which minimizes the amount of infrared light without minimizing the amount of light that enters your home. This helps also with passively heating and cooling the buildings. The roof is also accessible to the residents. This promotes mental and physical health by allowing outdoor space for the residents within the building. The roof also contains solar panels that helps lower costs and produce renewable energy for the buildings. Various types of transportation have been established in the Gardens. A new bus station stop to help people that have to go to work, bike stations within multiple areas of the residence, and access to the T station .5 miles down the street.
Within our design we have adhered to many of the Smart Growth principles. By providing different types of programming other than housing such as a community center, cafe, fitness center, classrooms, laundry, this offers a variety of mixed uses and creates ranges in housing opportunities and choices. Another principle they value is walkable neighborhoods. The extension of the green space from the existing park into the Gardens allows the openness to the neighborhood and has pathways that lead in and through the site. As previously stated, we created a variety of transportation to allow multiple means of accessibility. Lastly, our decisions were influenced by the collaborative discussions with the affected community and stakeholders of the project.
32 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
ZONING STRATEGY Our vision for the Gardens requires height and density variances to achieve our goals of inclusive, family-oriented housing that provides access to opportunities for residents of all backgrounds. The parcel upon which the Gardens resides is zoned as a Three-Family Residential Subdistrict, which the Boston zoning code established to preserve low density three-family areas. This type of subdistrict presents three limits that have implications for our proposal: 1) the allowable number of dwelling units being three per building, 2) a maximum height of three stories, and 3) a floor-to-area ratio (F.A.R.) maximum of 0.8. Currently, the existing Gardens already surpasses the limit of three dwelling units per building, making the first limitation less of a concern for our team. In order to achieve our vision of inclusive affordability and access to opportunity through the Gardens, our proposal requires the pursuit of height and F.A.R. variances. Our proposal requires a height of 5 stories at 69 feet, and an F.A.R. of 0.95.
denser developments in the Allston-Brighton area being approved over the past several years, several stakeholders have pointed out that our request for a height variance under 70 feet will face far less resistance from neighbors. Additionally, due to the Gardens’ location directly south and east of local industrial zoning, as well as north of municipal park land, we expect to face less issues with approval for variances related to height and density.
CURRENT
PROPOSED
RELIEF NEEDED
FAR Ratio Mix
0.8
0.95
Yes
Lot area minimum for dwelling units
400 sq. ft. or 1 or 2 units
REGULATION
Height
No
3 stories/35 ft.
5 stories
Yes
20 ft.
20 ft.
No
Side Yard
10 ft.
60 ft.
No
Rear Yard
40 ft.
40 ft.
No
0.7
0.4
Yes
of Buildings Front Yard
Parking Space
Our interviews with both political officials and community organization leaders have suggested that there is a strong appetite for affordable housing units by the neighbor of Brighton, and that pushing the envelope on zoning should be viable in the current local political climate. With a plethora of higher and
33
PHASING PROCESS The Gardens will be built in 3 phases and each phase consists of constructing two buildings. In phase one, two buildings will be demolished from the old Faneuil Gardens site and two new buildings will replace it. In phase 2 and 3, four buildings from the old Faneuil Gardens site will be demolished in each phase and two denser buildings will replace them. Residents will be relocated from the first buildings that will be demolished but will be given first priority to return once the first pair of buildings are constructed.
34 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
ECONOMIC INCLUSION & PURPOSEFUL FINANCING FINANCIAL OVERVIEW As development around Allston Landing transforms Brighton, The Gardens preserves and expands vital affordable housing for homeless and low-income families while adding new market-rate units to the neighborhood’s housing stock.
The Gardens is a diverse residential community that offers a variety of living arrangements for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. All 254 units from the demolished Faneuil Gardens site will be rebuilt, plus an additional 97 units at market rate or 80% AMI.
UNIT MIX & RENTS
The Gardens is a diverse residential community # of Units in # of Units/ Total Monthly Total Yearly Revenue Rent of living arrangements Rent % of Total that offersfrom a variety for Complex Avg Building Rent/Building Rent/Building $448
40
7
$3,136
$37,632
3.1%
Studio - Project Based Section 8
Studio - State Public Housing
$2,464
25
4
$9,856
$118,272
9.8%
Studio - 80% AMI
$1,685
11
2
$3,370
$40,440
3.4%
Studio - Market
$2,082
6
1
$2,082
$24,984
2.1%
1 BR - State Public Housing
$448
13
2
$896
$10,752
0.9%
1 BR - 80% AMI
$1,805
11
2
$3,610
$43,320
3.6%
1 BR - Market
$2,231
6
1
$2,231
$26,772
2.2%
$448
92
16
$7,168
$86,016
7.2%
1 BR - Project Based Section 8
$3,168
48
8
$25,344
$304,128
25.3%
2 BR - 80% AMI
$2,166
21
4
$8,664
$103,968
8.7%
2 BR - Market
$2,677
42
8
$21,416
$256,992
21.4%
$448
18
3
$1,344
$16,128
1.3%
2 BR - State Public Housing
3 BR - State Public Housing 3 BR - Project Based Section 8 Total
$3,658
18
3
$10,974
$131,688
11.0%
351
61
$100,091
$1,201,092
100.0%
The Gardens consist of 6 buildings, offering 351 apartments varying from studio, one, two, and three bedrooms. A typical building has 14 studios, 5 one-bedrooms, 36 two-bedrooms, and 6 three-bedrooms. 43 units will have rents calculated at 32% of a resident’s income, with 28 state public housing units, and 15 Section 8 units (13 of those units will be reserved for formerly homeless families). This income mix reflects our goals for having a diverse residential community, which will be financed through an array of city, state, and federal subsidies.
35
DEVELOPMENT BUDGET
DEVELOPMENT BUDGET (1 BUILDING)
181M
$30M
Development Cost Per Building
$493K Per Unit
$/GSF
% OF TOTAL
LIHTC Eligible
Acquisition
$0
$0
$0
0.0%
$0
$0
$0
$0
0.0%
$0
$23,789,010
$389,984
$368.44
79.0%
$23,789,010
$1,000,000
$16,393
$2.00
3.3%
$1,000,000
$21,481,200
$352,151
$340
71.4%
$21,481,200
Hard Costs New Construction
Total Project Development Cost
PER UNIT
Land
Demolition
Each building is budgeted to cost $30,101,604, or nearly $181 million for the entire residential complex, which is $493,469 per housing unit. The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) owns the land and we therefore assume a $0 acquisition cost. Additionally, the relocation expenses will be absorbed by the BHA.When combined with the cost of demolition, solar, landscaping, and a 5% contingency, the hard costs of the project comes to 80% of the development budget. Soft costs amounted to 8% of the budget, and financing costs are 3%. We intend to utilize a tax-exempt MassHousing Construction and Permanent Loan in the amount of $8,927,662, assuming a 4.25% interest rate over 30 years with a Debt Service Coverage Ratio of 1.15. Additionally, we intend to utilize MassHousing tax-exempt Bridge Loan Financing during the construction period to ensure compliance with the LIHTC 50% test.
TOTAL
Landscaping
$25,000
$410
$0.40
0.1%
$25,000
$150,000
$2,459
$8.50
0.5%
$150,000
Hard Cost Contingency (5%)
$1,132,810
$18,571
$17.54
3.8%
$1,132,810
Soft Costs
$1,841,861
Solar
$2,359,068
$38,673
$35.89
7.8%
Accounting & Cost Certification
$26,536
$435
$0.42
0.1%
$26,536
Appraisal
$31,590
$518
$0.50
0.1%
$31,590
$1,074,060
$17,608
$17.00
3.6%
$1,074,060
$63,180
$1,036
$1.00
0.2%
$63,180
$273,574
$4,485
$2.88
0.9%
$273,574
$55,598
$911
$0.88
0.2%
$55,598
$225,000
$3,689
$3.56
0.7%
$0
Architecture & Engineering Consultant Survey & Permitting Environmental Testing Legal Fees Appraisal
$7,500
$123
$0.12
0.0%
$7,500
Insurance
$236,925
$3,884
$3.75
0.8%
$118,463
Property Taxes
$63,180
$1,036
$1.00
0.2%
$0
Title & Recording
$70,762
$1,160
$1.12
0.2%
$70,762
$110,565
$1,813
$1.75
0.4%
$0
$0
$0
$0.00
0.0%
0
$5,000
$82
$0.08
0.0%
$5,000
Marketing & Rent Up Relocation Expenses (paid by BHA) Artist Commission
$7,625
$125
$0.12
0.0%
$7,625
Soft Cost Contingency (5%)
LEED Certification
$107,974
$1,770
$1.71
0.4%
$107,974
FINANCING COSTS
$981,817
$16,095
$15.54
3.3%
$880,097
Capitalized Construction Loan Interest
$693,716
$11,372
$10.98
2.3%
$693,716
Construction Loan Points and Legal
$186,381
$3,055
$2.95
0.6%
$186,381
Lender Inspection
$18,954
$311
$0.30
0.1%
$0
Permanent Debt Origination Fee
$82,766
$1,357
$1.31
0.3%
$0
OTHER COSTS
$2,971,710
$48,717
$3.93
9.9%
$2,971,710
Developer Overhead
$1,356,495
$22,238
$1.31
4.5%
$1,356,495
Developer Fee
$1,356,495
$22,238
$1.31
4.5%
$1,356,495
$258,720
$4,241
$1.31
0.9%
$0
$30,101,605
$493,469
$423.80
100.0%
$29,482,677
State Operating Subsidy Reserve TOTAL DEVELOPMENT COST
36 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
SOURCES AND USES 1. LEVERAGING HARD DEBT AND LIHTC
The Gardens utilizes a complex financing structure that funds each building in the 6-building complex as its own project.
TAX CREDITS Federal 4% LIHTC LIHTC Eligble Basis DDA Basis Bost Adjusted Basis Applicable Fraction Qualified Basis Applicable Federal Rate Annual Tax Credit Allocation Years of Tax Credit Total Tax Credits % Sold to Project Investors Projected Raise Total Federal LIHTC Equity
$29,482,677 130% $38,327,481 84% $32,044,287 3.12% $999,782 10 $9,997,818 99.99% $0.94 $9,397,009
State LIHTC Max Project Credit Per Unit Number of Units Allocation Years of Tax Credit Projected Raise Total State LIHTC Equity
$12,000 61 $732,000 5
Tax Credit Rate Total Tax Credit
Given high demand for Federal 9% LIHTC tax credits, we have designed the The Gardens’ unit mix and structure to be highly competitive for 9% credits but conservatively relied only on the less competitive 4% LIHTC tax credits to demonstrate project financial feasibility. While not shown here, we believe that at least one of the six buildings would receive an allocation of 9% LIHTC credits.
$0.78 $2,854,800
Solar Investment Tax Credits Solar Construction Costs
The blend of Market-rate, PBS-8 voucher, and Workforce units in each of The Garden’s buildings supports a maximum hard debt of $8.9 million, which we plan to take out in the form of a MassHousing tax-exempt Construction/Permanent Loan. In order to meet the 50% test for Federal 4% LIHTC, we also intend to take out a tax-exempt Construction Bridge Loan of $7 million to be paid back immediately after project stabilization. This Bridge Loan brings total construction period tax-exempt bonding financing to 53% and ensures eligibility for Federal 4% and State LIHTC.
$150,000 0.22 $33,000
Further, we limit our request of State LIHTC to the public maximum of $12,000 per affordable unit, but have designed The Gardens as an exceptionally strong candidate for additional State LIHTC from DHCD’s $5 million set-aside for state-assisted preservation projects under the 2018 Bond Bill.
SOURCES OF FUNDS (4% LIHTC) Equity
AMOUNT
% OF TOTAL
$12,284,809
40.79%
Federal 4% LIHTC
$9,397,009
31.2%
State LIHTC
$2,854,800
9.5%
$33,000
0.1%
Debt
$8,927,662
29.64%
Tax-exempt Construction/Permanent Loan
$8,927,662
Tax-exempt Construction Bridge Loan*
$7,000,000
Soft Debt
$7,548,408
25.06%
State Public Housing Capital Funding (DHCD)
$1,059,091
3.5%
City of Boston Match
$570,280
1.9%
FHLBB Affordable Housing Program
$650,000
2.2%
$1,000,000
3.3%
$800,000
2.7%
Capital Improvement and Preservation Fund
$2,000,000
6.6%
Boston Neighborhood Housing Trust
$1,469,037
4.9%
Other
$1,356,495
4.50%
Deferred Developer Fee
$1,356,495
4.5%
$30,117,374
100%
Solar Investment Tax Credit
DHCD Affordable Housing Trust Fund MassHousing Workforce Housing Program
TOTAL
29.6% N/A
* Not included in total development cost
2.PRESERVING CHAPTER 200 STATE PUBLIC HOUSING The 254 existing units at Faneuil Gardens receive an operating subsidy through the Massachusetts Chapter 200 State Public Housing Program, which provides neighborhood housing to low-income families. Recently, states have encouraged the conversion of existing operating subsidy units to Project-based Section 8 (PBS-8) vouchers due to shortfalls and cuts in state public housing operating subsidy programs.
37
The Gardens relies on the precedent set by DHCD and BHA at recent Chapter 200 redevelopments such as Orient Heights. We seek to replace 25 percent of units with PBS-8 Vouchers, which amounts to 15 PBS-8 units per typical project building. Remaining replacement units will continue to receive State Operating Subsidy estimated at $385 per unit. Additionally, we’ve included a capitalized state operating subsidy reserve equal to 24 months of state operating subsidy in order to protect against shortfalls in the state operating subsidy program. We estimate this reserve at $258,720 per building.
We also include soft debt support from the State Public Housing Capital Fund and the City of Boston that is considerably less than similar state-assisted preservation projects. For the entire complex, we estimate $8,249,797 in State Public Housing Capital Funding and $5,805,742 from the city of Boston. These amounts are less than half of the analogous support provided at recent state-assisted preservation projects in Boston.
USES OF FUNDS
The soft debt sources detailed below align strongly with The Gardens’ vision and below meet the requirement that a project receive no more than $100,000 per unit in state soft debt subsidies. We request the maximum amount possible per building from the FHLBB Affordable Housing Program, the DHCD Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the MassHousing Workforce Housing Program, and the Capital Improvement, but also identify additional sources able to supplement or replace these sources if necessary.
$0.00
0.00%
Hard Costs
$23,789,010
79.03%
New Construction
$21,481,200
71.36%
Solar, Landscaping, Demolition
$1,175,000
3.90%
Hard Cost Contingency
$1,132,810
3.76%
Soft Costs
$2,359,068
7.84%
Total Soft Costs
$2,251,094
7.48%
Soft Cost Contingency Construction Bridge Loan Repayment*
40.8% Equity
29.6% Hard Debt
25.1% Soft Debt
38 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
% OF TOTAL
Acquisition
$107,974 $7,000,000
0.36% N/A
Financing Costs
$981,817
3.26%
Construction, Permiting, Loan Costs
$981,817
3.26%
$2,971,710
9.87%
$30,101,605
100%
Developer Fee & Overhead
3. BLENDING SOFT DEBT SOURCES
AMOUNT
TOTAL * Not included in total uses of funds
HARD DEBT Tax-Exempt Construction/Permanent Loan $8,927,662 per building We estimate that net operating income from the market-rate, Project-Based Section 8, and Workforce units will support long-term debt totaling $8,927,662 in each of the six buildings, assuming an interest rate of 4.25 percent over 30 years with a Debt Service Coverage Ratio of 1.15.
EQUITY Federal 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) - $9,397,009 per building Each of the Gardens’ buildings far exceed the 20/50 and 40/60 eligibility tests for 4% Federal LIHTC. We estimate the Gardens is eligible for a 10-year maximum eligible tax credit equity of $9,397,009 per building. State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit $2,854,800 per building The Gardens will request $732,000 per building in Massachusetts Low-Income Housing Tax, meeting the maximum of $12,000 of tax credit allocation per unit and providing $2,854,800 in tax credit equity per building.
Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) - $33,000 per building We use the US. Department of Energy’s tax credit rate of 22% for systems installed after 2021 and total solar construction costs of $155,000 to project $33,000 in tax credits per building.
SOFT DEBT State Public Housing Capital Funding (DHCD) $1,059,091 per building The Massachusetts DHCD has continued its strong commitment to modernizing existing public housing stock through its Capital Fund, recently investing $32.725 million in state public housing capital at the 331 state-assisted unit Orient Heights public housing redevelopment. We conservatively budget capital funding from DHCD at only $1,059,091 per building for buildings 1-5 for a complex total of $8,249,797.
City of Boston - $570,280 per building The City of Boston also has built a precedent for additional financial support to the preservation of the city’s affordable housing stock, investing $10 million in the 88-unit Phase Two of the Orient Heights redevelopment. We request $570,280 in support for buildings 1-5 with an increased allocation for the lower-density community center building for a project total of $5,805,742. FHLBB Affordable Housing Program (AHP) $650,000 per building The Gardens will apply for the maximum direct subsidy of $650,000 per building from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. DHCD Affordable Housing Trust Fund $1,000,000 per building The Gardens will apply for the maximum support of $1,000,000 per building from the DHCD Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which strongly aligns with the Gardens’ plan to preserve and create affordable units below 80% AMI. The Gardens would be a strong candidate for discretionary DHCD funding above $1,000,000.
39
MassHousing Workforce Housing Program $800,000 per building The Gardens will request $100,000 in soft debt for each of the 8 newly created workforce housing units in each building, well below the per project limit of $3,000,000. Capital Improvement and Preservation Fund $2,000,000 per building The CIPF seeks to preserve and improve existing state assisted affordable rental developments. The Gardens will request the maximum $2,000,000 per project, structured as a 0% interest, 40-year deferred payment loan. Boston Neighborhood Housing Trust - $1,469,036 per building
THE CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY OF THE COMMUNITY CENTER BUILDING The Gardens utilizes the previously outlined financing strategy for five, 61-unit buildings. The sixth and final building of the development houses the first-floor community center that is critical to the vitality of resident life and current residents’ support. This use of the first floor reduces the number of units in this residential building to 46 and limits its ability to leverage market-rate units for hard debt and LIHTC for equity. As described in the discussion of soft debt sources, our baseline strategy for offsetting the reduction in hard debt and LIHTC equity depends on larger contributions from the City of Boston and the State Public Housing Capital Fund as well as a slightly higher Construction Bridge Loan to ensure compliance with LIHTC’s 50% tax-exempt bond test.
The Boston Neighborhood Housing Trust Fund prioritizes large projects with over 50% affordable units. We based our request of $1,469,036 on the average per-unit support across the seven projects BNHT supported in 2018.
40 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
Our six-part financing structure, however, ideally packages the community center for philanthropic investment. The community center’s impact on the entire 351 unit complex, its prominent location on the corner of North Beacon St. and Market St., and the prospect of partnering with the prominent organizations represented on the development team creates a strong, cohesive opportunity for corporate or philanthropic investment. Securing such a sponsorship is a feasible strategy for aligning this building’s soft debt sources with the rest of the complex.
OPERATING BUDGET (1 BUILDING)
Basis for Calculation
Administrative Expenses
Total operating expenses for one building is anticipated to be about $447,000 in Year 1, growing at a rate of 3% annually. Residential costs per unit are at $9,109, which factors in the $786 projected savings per unit from the rooftop solar panels. These expenses include administrative, utility, maintenance and operating, taxes and insurance, and a replacement reserve.
$447,290
$9,155
$/GSF
% OF TOTAL
$141,430
$2,319
$2.24
31.6%
$60,055
$985
$0.95
13.4%
Payroll, Benefits, Taxes
Fixed labor cost
$45,000
$738
$0.71
10.1%
Resident Services Coordinator
Fixed labor cost
$7,500
$123
$0.12
1.7%
Resident Support
Flat fee
$4,100
$67
$0.06
0.9%
Office Expenses
Per unit
$10,675
$175
$0.17
2.4%
Legal Expense
Flat fee
$4,000
$66
$0.06
0.9%
Accounting
Flat fee
$4,000
$66
$0.06
0.9%
LIHTC Monitoring Fee
Per unit
$3,050
$50
$0.05
0.7%
Miscellaneous
Per unit
$3,050
$50
$0.05
0.7%
$111,154
$1,822
$1.76
24.9%
Water and Sewer
Utility Expenses Per unit
$61,000
$1,000
$0.97
13.6%
Base Case Electricity
Per unit
$98,100
$1,557
$1.55
21.9%
Projected Solar Savings
Per unit
(47,946.00)
(786.00)
(0.76)
-10.72%
$110,660
$1,814
$1.75
24.7%
$30,000
$492
$0.47
6.7%
$2,500
$41
$0.04
0.6%
Maintenance & Operating Expenses
Annual operating expenses/building
$ PER UNIT
5% of rental income
Management Fee
OPERATING EXPENSES
Stabilized YR 1
Payroll
Fixed labor cost
Janitorial Materials
Flat fee
Exterminating
Flat fee
$2,000
$33
$0.03
0.4%
Trash
Per unit
$3,050
$50
$0.05
0.7%
Snow Removal
Flat fee
$2,000
$33
$0.03
0.4%
Grounds Maintenance
Flat fee
$2,000
$33
$0.03
0.4%
Cleaning
Flat fee
$3,500
$57
$0.06
0.8%
Repairs
Per unit
$61,000
$1,000
$0.97
13.6%
Lock and Key
Per unit
$610
$10
$0.01
0.1%
Decorating
Flat fee
$1,000
$16
$0.02
0.2%
Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment
Per unit
$3,000
$20
$0.05
0.7%
$164,700
$2,700
$2.61
36.8%
Real Estate Taxes
Per unit
$122,000
$2,000
$1.93
27.3%
Insurance
Per unit
$42,700
$700
$0.68
9.5%
$30,500
$500
$0.48
6.8%
Per unit
$30,500
$500
$0.48
6.8%
$447,290
$9,155
$7.08
100%
Per Unit
Taxes and Insurance
Other Costs Replacement Reserve TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES
41
OPERATING PRO FORMA The operating pro forma for the Gardens assumes a growth rate of 2% for rental income, and escalation of 3% for operating expenses. A vacancy of 5% was used for the market rate units and a vacancy of 3% was used for the remaining affordable units. Year 1 has an NOI of $729,801, which means that the project supports a loan of $8,927,662 amortized over 30 years with a 4.25% interest rate. This loan finances the market rate, workforce, and Section 8 units. OPERATING PRO FORMA (1 BUILDING)
Escalation
YR 1
YR 2
YR 3
YR 4
YR 5
YR 15
INCOME Rental Income - State Public Housing
2%
($
150,528) ($
153,539) ($
156,609) ($
159,742) ($
162,936) ($
198,618)
Rental Income - Project Based Section 8
2%
($
554,088) ($
565,170) ($
576,473) ($
588,003) ($
599,763) ($
731,107)
Rental Income - Workforce
2%
($
187,728) ($
191,483) ($
195,312) ($
199,218) ($
203,203) ($
247,703)
Market Rate Income
3%
($
308,748) ($
318,010) ($
327,551) ($
337,377) ($
347,499) ($
467,009)
State Public Subsidy
2%
($
129,360) ($
131,947) ($
134,586) ($
137,278) ($
140,023) ($
170,688)
Potential Gross Income
($
1,330,452) ($
1,360,149) ($
1,390,532) ($
1,421,618) ($
1,453,424) ($
1,815,126)
Affordable Vacancy (3%)
($
(21,138) ($
(21,561) ($
(21,992) ($
(22,432) ($
(22,881) ($
(27,892)
Workforce Vacancy (3%)
($
(5,632) ($
(9,574) ($
(9,766) ($
(9,961) ($
(10,160) ($
(12,385)
Market Rate Vacancy (5%)
($
(15,437) ($
(15,901) ($
(16,378) ($
(16,869) ($
(17,375) ($
(23,350)
Effective Gross Income
($
1,288,244) ($
1,313,113) ($
1,342,396) ($
1,372,356) ($
1,403,008) ($
1,751,498)
OPERATING EXPENSES Administrative Expenses
3%
($
(141,430) ($
(145,672) ($
(150,043) ($
(154,544) ($
(159,180) ($
(213,925)
Utility Expenses
3%
($
(111,154) ($
(114,489) ($
(117,923) ($
(121,461) ($
(125,105) ($
(168,130)
Maintenance & Operating Expenses
3%
($
(110,660) ($
(113,980) ($
(117,399) ($
(120,921) ($
(124,549) ($
(167,383)
Taxes & Insurance
3%
($
(164,700) ($
(169,641) ($
(174,730) ($
(179,972) ($
(185,371) ($
(249,124)
Replacement Reserves
3%
($
(30,500) ($
(31,415) ($
(32,357) ($
(33,328) ($
(34,328) ($
(46,134)
Total Operating Expenses
($
(558,444) ($
(575,197) ($
(592,453) ($
(610,226) ($
(628,533) ($
(844,696)
NET OPERATING INCOME
($
729,801) ($
737,916) ($
749,943) ($
762,129) ($
774,475) ($
906,802)
Debt Service
($
710,763) ($
710,763) ($
710,763) ($
710,763) ($
710,763) ($
710,763)
1.15
1.15
1.15
1.15
1.15
19,037) ($
27,152) ($
39,180) ($
51,366) ($
63,711) ($
Debt Service Coverage Ratio CASH FLOW AFTER FINANCING
($
42 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
1.15 196,039)
FIVE YEAR PROJECT TIMELINE The Gardens will be built in 3 phases, each phase consisting of two buildings which will be financed separately. We are strategically distributing the pre-development fees to mitigate risk across the phases. Community engagement will continue through pre-development and is expected to last longer than other development projects due to the sensitivity of the demolition and relocation of residents. Public approval, zoning variances, permitting, and securing financing will likely take 1.5 years. Each phase will take approximately 3 years to complete, with 6 additional months at the onset of the project.
Q1
Year 1 Q2 Q3
Q4
Q1
Year 2 Q2 Q3
Q4
Q1
Year 3 Q2 Q3
Q4
Q1
Year 4 Q2 Q3
Q4
Q1
Year 5 Q2 Q3
Q4
PRE-DEVELOPMENT Community Engagement Schematic Design Design Development Public Approval & Zoning Variances Financing Applications Construction Documents Contractor Selection Permitting Relocating Current Residents Financial Closing CONSTRUCTION Environmental Remediation Demolition & Site Work Foundation Framing & Roofing Mechanical Systems Interior Finishes Lease-Up Certificate of Occupancy Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
43
THE GARDENS A PLACE WHERE DIVERSITY TRULY BLOOMS
The Gardens will serve a model for multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and intergenerational living. With our spacious family-size quarters and attractive market rate units, the Gardens will foster diversity on a scale that will be rivaled and replicated across the City of Boston. Our access to public transit, shared amenities and high-quality programming will help strengthen the connective tissue among residents and between the larger Brighton community. More than 20 years ago, the residents introduced Unity Day to the City of Boston. In the same way, the Gardens will serve as a model for multi-cultural, intergenerational living. It will be a place where diversity truly blooms.
44 | THE GARDENS | Brighton, Massachusetts | 2020 FHLB Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
BIBLIOGRAPHY Acitelli, Tom. (2020, Feb 11). “Allston’s big projects, mapped.” Curbed Boston. https://boston.curbed.com/maps/allston-development-boston-2020 American Community Survey. (2020) Select housing characteristics: Boston City--Allston, Brighton, Fenway. United States Bureau of Census. https://data.census. gov/cedsci/table?g=7950000US2503301&tid=ACSDP1Y2012.DP04&hidePreview=false&vintage=2010&layer=puma&cid=DP05_0001E&t=Housing Brighton-Allston Historical Society. (n.d.). What’s in the name. Retrieved from http://www.bahistory.org/bahhistfirst.html Faneuil Tenant Organization. (n.d.). Faneuil gardens community center. Retrieved from http://faneuilgardenstenant.org/8.html HUD. (2020). Small area fair market rents (2020). U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Portal. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/ smallarea/index.html Peterman, Taylor C. (2020, Feb 19). “Harvard reaches halfway point of ten-year Allston development plan.” The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/ article/2020/2/19/allston-institutional-master-plan-halfway-update/ Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law : A forgotten history of how our government segregated America(First ed., Democracy and urban landscapes). New York ;London: Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company.Vale, L. (2000). From the Puritans to the projects: public housing and public neighbors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Vale, L. (2002). Reclaiming public housing: A half century of struggle in three public neighborhoods. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
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