BOSTON – December 6, 2023 – MassHousing has closed on approximately $10 million in financing through the CommonWealth Builder Program to Tremont Development Partners LLC to develop 30 new townhomes for purchase by moderate-income, first-time homebuyers in the Gateway City of Taunton.

The MassHousing funding will allow Tremont Development Partners to transform a site with a vacant former medical office building into a thriving new residential community for first-time homebuyers. Four of the new homes will be sold to homebuyers earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 26 homes will be sold to homebuyers earning up to 100 percent of AMI. Homes are expected to sell between $195,000 and $255,000.

"MassHousing is excited for the 30 households who will be able to purchase a new home they can afford to put down roots in Taunton," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. "As homeowners, they will begin to build equity and wealth, which they one day may pass along to a new generation. We are pleased that CommonWealth Builder will help build these new homes, with all the benefits homeownership can bring."

"This site offers a tremendous opportunity to create homeownership opportunities in the City of Taunton at an attainable price point for first-time homebuyers," said Rich Mazzocchi, Principal of Tremont Development Partners. "We are truly grateful for the support of our financing partners and the City of Taunton, and we look forward to achieving the successful delivery of these homes to the community."

The CommonWealth Builder Program is a landmark initiative to address the racial homeownership gap in Massachusetts by creating new homeownership and wealth-building opportunities in communities of color. 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 Area Median Income (AMI).

In addition to the $10 million in CommonWealth Builder financing from MassHousing, Eastern Bank is providing $7.5 million in construction financing and the Greater Attleboro/Taunton HOME Consortium is providing $600,000.

The new housing will replace an abandoned, single-story medical office building, which has been demolished. The 30 two-bedroom townhomes will be contained in four buildings. The development will be located near downtown Taunton, Taunton City Hall and open space.

The general contractor is Congress Construction. The architect is Davis Square Architects and the management agent is Maloney Properties.

MassHousing has financed seven rental housing communities in Taunton involving 398 housing units and $29 million in financing. The Agency has also provided $227.2 million in home mortgage financing to 1,614 Taunton homebuyers and Homeowners.

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 $85.1 million to 17 CommonWealth Builder projects across Massachusetts. These projects will create a total of 476 new homeownership opportunities, including 396 new affordable homes for first-time homebuyers.

The CommonWealth Builder Program is funded by state capital funds and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated by the Massachusetts Legislature. 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 Tremont Development Partners

Tremont Development Partners LLC is dedicated to making a positive impact on communities through our expertise in developing affordable and workforce multifamily housing. Tremont is built on the rich history and core strengths of its former parent company, Boston Capital, a leader in the affordable housing industry since 1974. For more information on Tremont, please visit www.tremontdevelopment.com.

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 $29.5 billion for affordable housing. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

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