Patrick Details $20M Loan Program
Gov. Deval Patrick this morning unveiled a $20 million, state-sponsored, privately funded, low-interest loan fund for developers to buy and rent abandoned properties.
The fund consists of $17 million from private and quasi-public lenders and $3 million from private nonprofit organizations. It is targeted at high-vacancy neighborhoods in cities most affected by what Patrick called "the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts," including Worcester, Springfield, New Bedford, Lawrence, Chelsea, Brockton and Boston.
Patrick expects between 250 and 500 units to be reoccupied after the initial allotments from the loan pool.
The private and quasi-public lenders involved in the program are the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., a consortium of banks and corporate investors, and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, a bank-funded affordable housing organization.
Nonprofit organizations The Boston Foundation and the Boston-based Hyams Foundation will contribute $2 million and $1 million to the program, respectively.
The state Affordable Housing Trust Fund will fund a $1 million loan loss reserve account as a safety net for the program and the state will also provide a $60,000-per-unit subsidy for the redevelopment of properties as affordable housing.
The program will offer loans based on what can reasonably be repaid by nonprofit or for-profit developers with "clear and realistic plans for property acquisition and use after rehabilitation," Patrick's office said.
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