Mass. rolls out $150M affordable housing fund

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick last week announced the roll out of a $150 million loan fund to support long-term affordable housing preservation in the state.
The fund was created by the state quasi-public Community Economic Assistance Corp. in partnership with Mass. Department of Housing and Community Development. The program is leveraged through state bond funds, along with a $3.5 million award to Massachusetts from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, $40 million from private lenders and $100 million from the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp.
Patrick last month also signed a law to keep publicly assisted rental properties affordable. The bill creates a regulatory framework to preserve affordable rents in properties where long-term, publicly subsidized mortgages are paid off and affordability restrictions can then expire.
Patrick said an estimated 90,000 units could be affected. •