Transforming communities through major transit investments
How can cities build more livable communities with transit? More than twenty years ago that question led to the creation of …
How can cities build more livable communities with transit? More than twenty years ago that question led to the creation of Rail~Volution, an organization that started as a series of events in the Portland metropolitan area and then grew to become a leading national network, resource and advocacy organization. Each year the nonprofit sponsors a major conference bringing together professionals in transportation, urban planning, community development and others who share its vision of “transforming America’s cities and regions into livable places – healthy, economically vibrant, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable – where people have transportation choices.”
At this year’s Rail~Volution conference, held on October 21-24 in Pittsburgh, Maggie Super Church, CLF Vice President for Market Innovation and Impact, participated in a session on “Aligning Resources for Equitable TOD.” Along with Alyla Gaskins from the Center for Community Investment and Thatcher Imboden from Sound Transit, Seattle, the group discussed how to overcome barriers to development, the role of public, private and philanthropic partnerships, creating new models for cross-sector partnerships and how those partnerships can escalate implementation of ETOD projects. Maggie gave a presentation about HNEF and talked about rising inequality and concentrated poverty, how and why HNEF was created, how it works, its cross-sector partners and its challenges and successes to date.
HNEF-financed transit-oriented development in downtown Haverhill "breaks ground”
HAVERHILL – A ceremonial groundbreaking was held today to mark the beginning of the redevelopment of 87 Washington Street – a …
HAVERHILL – A ceremonial groundbreaking was held today to mark the beginning of the redevelopment of 87 Washington Street – a historic building in the heart of Haverhill that is being converted into rental housing and retail space. The new transit-oriented development will help revitalize this Gateway city and serve as a catalyst for increased investment.
Built in 1900, 87 Washington Street is two blocks from the Haverhill rail station and within walking distance to municipal services, grocery stores, restaurants, the Haverhill YMCA, pharmacies, banks and other amenities. The four-story brick building is being developed by Boston-based Traggorth Companies and will consist of 24 loft apartments and 3,500 square feet of retail.
The help make this development possible, HNEF provided $1.4 million in gap financing. HNEF chose this development for investment because of its strong public support, immediate access to public transportation, and opportunities to reduce health disparities. Several other older vacant buildings in downtown Haverhill are being brought back to life with new housing and retail space.
Historically an industrial city that has confronted higher unemployment and poverty, lower educational attainment and health disparities, Haverhill has over the last several years embarked on transformative strategic initiatives to revive its downtown and make Haverhill a more prosperous and a more walkable and bicycle-friendly city.
To make the city more walkable, for example, the city has improved sidewalks and planted trees and is in the process of improving access to its downtown Riverwalk along the Merrimack River. Its goal is the complete a loop for walking and bicycling along Washington St. across the Merrimack River and to encourage, walking, bicycling, boating, kayaking, jogging and other outdoor activities.
Besides HNEF’s investment, major financing for 87 Washington Street is coming from the MassDevelopment. The $9 million project is receiving federal and state historic tax credits and funding through the state’s Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP), a program that helps Gateway cities create mixed-income housing, promote neighborhood stabilization, and support economic development through tax credits.
87 Washington Street is HNEF’s seventh investment, for a total of $19.4 million invested to date. This development is expected to create 12-17 new full-time retail jobs and 100 construction jobs. HNEF’s seven project investments will have leveraged an additional $131 million of private and public investment in low-and moderate-income neighborhoods, and they will have created 552 new units of housing and 137,588 square feet of commercial space.
Occupancy at 87 Washington Street is expected at the end of 2019.
HNEF is subject of panel at ULI's Building Healthy Places Interest Forum in Boston
On Monday, October 8, Peter Sargent, MHIC Director of Capital Development, and Andrew Seeder, CLF Senior Associate for …
On Monday, October 8, Peter Sargent, MHIC Director of Capital Development, and Andrew Seeder, CLF Senior Associate for Research and Metrics, participated on a panel about HNEF at the Urban Land Institute’s Building Healthy Places Interest Forum.
This forum brings together leaders in health, wellness, and real estate to discuss what they are doing, planning, and observing in the field. Another featured panel was "The Rise of Healthy Building Certifications".
The Building Healthy Places Interest Forum was organized in collaboration with ULI member leaders and focused on sharing information about Boston-based projects at the intersection of health and the built environment and applying lessons from these projects to the work of forum participants from across the country.
"Improving Health and Environment Through Place-Based Investing: The Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund”
What led to the creation of HNEF? Why is HNEF needed and how does it work? What outcomes does HNEF seek to achieve and how …
What led to the creation of HNEF? Why is HNEF needed and how does it work? What outcomes does HNEF seek to achieve and how are impacts measured? These are among the questions answered by Maggie Super Church and Kathy McGilvray in their interesting and authoritative article, published in the most recent issue of the American Bar Association’s Journal of Affordable Housing.
HNEF celebrates completion of Braintree development -- a major, mixed-use TOD project: "The type of solution our region needs…”
A Grand Opening ceremony was held last month to celebrate completion of Landing 53, a new transit-oriented real estate …
A Grand Opening ceremony was held last month to celebrate completion of Landing 53, a new transit-oriented real estate development (TOD) in Braintree. The project, for which HNEF I invested $5 million, is the second of the equity fund’s projects to be completed.
HNEF officials joined the developer Joshua Katzen and the development team, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan, other public officials and area residents to view the project, reflect on its importance for Braintree’s ongoing revitalization, and to cut the symbolic ribbon.
At the ceremony, MHIC President Joe Flatley said, “This area used to be a thriving industrial and commercial district. Now it’s once again becoming a vibrant community. Landing 53 will help boost Braintree’s economy and ignite the transformation under way.”
Landing 53 is directly across from the MBTA’s Weymouth Landing-East Braintree commuter rail station, built on land formerly occupied by semi-vacant buildings. It has 172 moderately-priced rental apartments and ground floor commercial/retail space.
The 2-acre site on which Landing 53 was built was considered ideally suited for redevelopment because of its proximity to public transit, strong public support, and other revitalization efforts under way. When considering the project as a potential investment, HNEF focused on its potential for transformative impacts and concluded that the project could contribute significantly to the health of the neighborhood and the people who live there.
It took three years for the development team to get the Landing 53 plan in place, and it was a major priority for the town, which spent $2 million in state funds and some town money to improve the area with underground utility lines and improved street lighting, sidewalks and crosswalks. HNEF’s investment in 2016 provided the crucial equity gap financing that enabled the project to move forward.
CLF President Bradley Campbell said, "CLF is proud to be a founding partner, along with MHIC, of HNEF I. This transit-oriented development is the type of solution our region needs to address the serious and growing problems of climate change and public health.”
Now completed, the attractive building includes a health club, lounge, leasing office, common interior space, an elevated patio and indoor storage for bicycles, kayaks and canoes and other amenities to enhance the environment and encourage outdoor activity. For example, the developer connected pedestrian pathways around the property to a network of paths of the Monatiquot River and canoe launches, encouraging people to exercise and enjoy nature. On the ground floor, the building will contain 3-4 stores occupying a total of 12,000 square feet.
"Using Real Estate to Improve Public Health: Equity Investments Support Equitable Outcomes”
Banker & Tradesman, Boston’s financial services and real estate weekly, featured HNEF and its progress to date in this week's issue …
Banker & Tradesman, Boston’s financial services and real estate weekly, featured HNEF and its progress to date in this week's issue. HNEF’s Maggie Super Church and Kathy McGilvray are interviewed by reporter Stave Adams.
Holmes Beverly development nears completion
Holmes Beverly, a transit-oriented development for which HNEF provided a $4.9 million investment, is nearly complete. The new …
Holmes Beverly, a transit-oriented development for which HNEF provided a $4.9 million investment, is nearly complete. The new building, which is immediately next to the Beverly Depot commuter rail station – a big plus for residents – features 67 mixed-income rental apartments and about 4,500 square feet of ground floor commercial/retail space, plus a number of amenities that will promote healthy living. Holmes Beverly was designed to help create a stronger and more vibrant downtown Beverly. It will significantly advance the city’s and Beverly Main Streets’ vision for downtown revitalization and contribute to a healthy and thriving neighborhood. See what the Salem News had to say about this transformative project.
What is the state of research on housing's impact on health?
Written by Lauren Taylor, this interesting brief outlines and evaluates available literature and research including examples of …
Find an answer to that question in a policy brief entitled "Housing And Health: An Overview Of The Literature” published on June 7th in Health Affairs, the leading journal of health policy thought and research.
Written by Lauren Taylor, this interesting brief outlines and evaluates available literature and research including examples of observational and interventional studies dealing with the impact of housing on health. The author reviews literature supporting housing’s impact on health through four pathways: housing stability, quality and safety, affordability, and neighborhood.
In her section on Policy Implications, Ms. Taylor writes about the role that private businesses, lenders, and investors can play. Banks, CDFIs and other commercial entities, she says, “should consider themselves potential anchors for community revitalization (or market opening) projects,” and cites the work of HNEF and Build Healthy Places Network as “especially instructive.”
The research and literature reviewed in this brief is informative and critically important for all who are concerned with making more equitable opportunities for affordable, safe, quality, and stable housing in healthy neighborhoods.
HNEF evaluation team gets $450,000 to study hospital's community investments
Concerned about the social determinants of health and of housing in particular, Boston Medical Center (BMC) – an HNEF I investor – recently ….
Concerned about the social determinants of health and of housing in particular, Boston Medical Center (BMC) – an HNEF I investor – recently announced its $6.5 million investment to support a range of local housing initiatives, including funding for HNEF to study the hospital’s community investments.
Announcing the new initiative, BMC’s President and CEO Kate Walsh said, “Too often, we prescribe medicine to a family, when what they need just as much for long-term health is a prescription for stable housing. This investment remedies that and saves cost to the health care system in the process.”