BOSTON – January 16, 2025 – MassHousing has provided $9.9 million in CommonWealth Builder financing for the development of 440 Broadway in Chelsea, which will offer 28 new condominiums for purchase by moderate-income, first-time homebuyers.

Causeway Development LLC will redevelop a parcel formerly owned by the city containing a vacant retail building in the city’s Bellingham Square into a five-story building with 14 condominium units for sale to homebuyers earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 14 units for sale to homebuyers earning up to 100 percent of AMI.

"This is a great opportunity to breathe new life into a blighted parcel and build 28 brand new homes for first-time buyers in Chelsea," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. "Not only will these new homeowners be able to set down roots and begin building wealth through owning their own homes, but they will also enjoy all the services and amenities the neighborhood has to offer."

"440 Broadway represents an exciting opportunity to provide much-needed homeownership opportunities in Chelsea," said Dave Traggorth, Principal of Causeway Development LLC. "By creating 28 new Passive House certified homes in Bellingham Square, we're not only providing pathways to homeownership for families, but also contributing to the continued revitalization of this vibrant commercial corridor in a sustainable and thoughtful way. We're grateful for the support of MassHousing, the City of Chelsea, and our other partners in making this transformative project possible."

MassHousing is supporting the project with $9.9 million in CommonWealth Builder Funding. Eastern Bank is providing $9.3 million in construction financing, the City of Chelsea is providing $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, and the North Suburban HOME Consortium is providing $800,000 in funding.

MassHousing's CommonWealth Builder Program is a landmark initiative to address the racial homeownership gap in Massachusetts by creating new homeownership and wealth-building opportunities in underserved communities. It is the largest state-level program of its kind in the nation and provides market-based subsidies to support the construction of new, moderately priced, single-family homes and condominiums in the City of Boston, the state's 26 Gateway Cities, and Framingham and Randolph. The program subsidizes the production of homes restricted to homebuyers with incomes set anywhere between 70 percent to 120 percent of their AMI. For projects in the City of Boston, MassHousing and the city coordinate on construction funding and administration.

The development plan includes the demolition of the existing vacant single-story retail building and the new construction of a five-story building with first-floor retail space and the 28 condo units on floors two through five. Upon completion, the ground floor commercial unit will be conveyed back to the city for use as municipal office space and resident services.

There will be 12 one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units, and four three-bedroom units. The development will include EV charging stations and bike storage for residents. The building is designed to be Passive House certified, with a solar-ready roof. The site is approximately 200 feet from an MBTA bus stop with access to five routes, approximately a quarter mile from the MBTA Chelsea Silver Line Bus Station, and 1.5 miles from the Chelsea Commuter Rail Station. The new housing will have easy access to community amenities such as the Chelsea Public Library, grocery stores, restaurants and schools.

The general contractor is Haycon LLC. The architect is J. Garland Enterprises LLC and the management agent will be Peabody Properties, Inc.

About the CommonWealth Builder Program 

Massachusetts has the sixth-largest racial homeownership gap the United States. Across the nation, approximately 46 percent of households of color own their own home, compared to just 34 percent in Massachusetts. The homeownership gap between white and nonwhite residents in Massachusetts has helped drive significant disparities in household wealth. The CommonWealth Builder Program is a double-bottom-line initiative. It grows the Commonwealth’s stock of moderately priced starter homes, while advancing intergenerational wealth building in underserved communities. 

MassHousing’s Homeownership Division supports CommonWealth Builder with a combination of mortgage financing for homebuyers, down payment assistance loans, mortgage insurance with job-loss protection at no added cost, and targeted marketing in the Gateway Cities to ensure that borrowers of color are made aware of this new opportunity for homeownership.

Since the program launched in 2019, MassHousing has committed a total of $158.6 million to 31 CommonWealth Builder projects across Massachusetts. These projects will create a total of 757 new homeownership opportunities, including 667 new affordable homes for first-time homebuyers.

The CommonWealth Builder Program is funded by state capital funds. The Commonwealth's Gateway Cities are Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield and Worcester.

About Causeway Development LLC

Causeway Development LLC (formerly Traggorth Companies) specializes in residential, commercial, and mixed-use development, with a focus on transit-oriented, mixed-income multifamily housing across the Commonwealth. The 440 Broadway project represents Causeway's second Commonwealth Builder funded project, following Brookley Flats in Jamaica Plain, which opens in spring 2025. Causeway partners with municipalities and public agencies to unlock challenging development sites, typically delivering projects ranging from 20-80 homes.

About MassHousing

MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $29 billion for affordable housing. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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