FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Home Funders Project Brings Homes, Community Center to Acushnet Heights

NEW BEDFORD– Home Funders, a public-private partnership dedicated to addressing the crisis in family homelessness through increasing the supply of extremely affordable housing units in Massachusetts, announces the donation of an historic New Bedford school building, by a Home Funders partner, to establish “Acushnet Commons.”
The development will provide 12 affordable family-sized units, a community center, and the new headquarters of NorthStar Learning Centers, a local service agency.

“We’re thrilled at the potential this building now holds for the Acushnet Heights neighborhood,” said JoAnn McGrath of the Highland Street Connection, the donor of the building and a Home Funders partner. “As a Home Funders partner, we’re focused on creating extremely affordable housing for those families most in need, but this holds the promise to be a stellar example of how that goal can be of benefit to the community as a whole.”

"The Acushnet Commons revitalization project is helping to contribute to the ongoing transformation of the Acushnet Heights neighborhood into a source of community pride and accomplishment,” said Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz, Jr. “The project will only enhance the positive changes in the neighborhood and a renewed sense of optimism."

The building at 59-65 Linden Street was originally built as a parochial school, which later operated as the Kinyon-Cambell business school, and sat vacant for eight years in a neighborhood targeted for revitalization. Currently owned by the Highland Street Connection, it will be donated to the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development, who is managing the project. Home Funders has also committed funds to finance the pre-development costs of development.

“For those families at the lowest end of the pay scale who are tragically forced to choose between paying market rents and basic necessities, it’s essential we do all we can,” said Robert Wadsworth, Program Director at The Boston Foundation, a Home Funders partner organization, and Chair of Home Funders. “This project is unique in that it will not only provide sorely needed extremely affordable housing, but it will become a vital center of activity for a neighborhood that needs it.”

A celebration of the donation, and a tour of the building’s interior prior to demolition work, will take place on Tuesday, June 29, at 10:30 a.m., at 59-65 Linden Street. Representatives from the City of New Bedford, including Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr., and Home Funders will host a brief speaking program. Children from NorthStar’s A.R.T. Program will perform “Songs for Tomorrow.”

Five of the 12 units in Acushnet Commons will be available to families earning less than 30 % of the area median income – the target population for Home Funders initiatives. The remaining units will be available to families making less than 60 % of the median income.

The first floor will house the new headquarters of NorthStar Learning Centers, offering such on-site services as job training, mentoring programs and computer training, and also provides childcare, after-school programs and early education. Within its offices will also be a Community Center for use by other agencies and community groups.

“The partnerships formed through this initiative have been proactive and supportive in creating affordable housing opportunities. The utilization of federal HOME funding will assist in the transformation of this historic building and will have an immediate and positive impact within the Acushnet Heights neighborhood,” said Patrick Sullivan, New Bedford’s Housing and Community Development Director.

Home Funders funded its first project in July, 2003, after a group of private foundations took the unusual step of committing $15.5 million in long term investments to spur development of housing for families on the lowest ends of the pay scale. Recently, $2.5 million in additional funding was made available through investments by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, State Street Corporation, and Fidelity Management Trust Company, with matching funds from Highland Street Connection and The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation. An additional $2.5 million in matching funds are still available, as Home Funders aggressively seeks new partners.

Home Funders loans are distributed through the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC).

A total of 126 extremely affordable units are already under construction throughout Massachusetts, and 145 more such units in the planning stage have been identified for funding - a strong indication of the impact such financing options can have when applied.

“Too often, the term ‘affordable’ is applied to housing projects that are still far out of reach for the families who need them most, and Home Funders leverages its funds against other sources and programs to increase the supply for those families,” said Dan Fireman, Trustee of the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, a Home Funders partner. “In doing so, we’re creating a model that demonstrates that the housing crisis is a problem that can be solved. With 10,000 families homeless, and thousands more in inadequate housing, we know we can’t do it alone. So we’re putting the challenge to the philanthropic, business and government communities to join us in ending family homelessness.”

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