properties. The $55.3 million project will create the Residences on Appleton with 88 affordable apartments for those 55 and older. “And we will follow with improvements to the water, sewer, and streets,” says Vega. Other projects coming on board include market-rate condo lofts aimed at young professionals who don’t want to own a home and several properties on High St. that, according to Vega,“will bring back those 8-20 unit apartment buildings with retail on the ground floor.” Another potential project is the repurposing of a large bank building on High St. for residential units.“And we have zoning in place which will allow for a live/work situation in a lot of mill buildings that are being turned over to residential,” he adds. Helping the city with these projects is MassHousing, 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. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $29 billion for affordable housing in the state. “The timing is really good for us to have these shovel-ready projects,” Vega continues. “Some of the companies that are growing here in Holyoke have signed MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) with some housing developers, saying ‘if you bring these properties online and you create this housing, we’ll commit to renting, three, four, six, eight, units of housing for our workforce.’ A developer can take that to the bank and get the project going.” For older neighborhoods, the city has worked with MassWorks, which provides funds that support infrastructure and streetscape improvements across the Commonwealth. In 2019, it helped support a Holyoke Housing Authority affordable housing project in South Holyoke. A 90-unit development WinnCompanies is an award-winning owner, developer, and manager of more than 119,500 high-impact apartment homes in 27 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. winncompanies.com @winncompanies RANKED BYNAHMA 2 # largest affordable housing manager in the United States for 2024 213 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 HOLYOKE, MA
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