The Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) gathered with partners, residents and advocates to acknowledge and celebrate everyone who helped NOAH preserve 111 units in 29 buildings in East Boston. NOAH has long been committed to acquiring small multifamily buildings in East Boston. For decades, East Boston’s triple-deckers and small multifamily buildings have provided homes for the working families and immigrants who have helped shape the neighborhood’s identity. As housing costs have risen, preserving these buildings has become increasingly important to protecting longtime residents from displacement. NOAH has been at the forefront of this work, acquiring properties and maintaining them as affordable housing rather than allowing them to be sold on the private market. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, with the help of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) and the City of Boston, NOAH acquired over 80 three-deckers. NOAH sold 42 of these to first time homebuyers and has since created an additional 37 first time homeownership units.
“These buildings represent so much more than affordable apartments. They are homes where families have raised children, built relationships, secured jobs, gained wealth and contributed to the East Boston community,” said Phil Giffee, Executive Director, NOAH. “For decades, NOAH has worked to ensure that residents can continue to call this neighborhood home. This investment allows us to build on that commitment by protecting affordable rents, improving the quality of these homes, and preserving an important part of East Boston’s housing for future generations.”
When the City launched its Acquisition Opportunity Program (AOP), NOAH was among the first participants, doubling down on their previous work and acquiring an additional 50+ homes throughout the neighborhood. They did this with an AOP soft subsidy from the City and support from Community Housing Capital, BlueHub Capital, The Life Initiative, and Rockland Trust.
“Preserving existing affordable housing is essential to keeping Boston’s neighborhoods accessible to the families who have helped build them,” said Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon. “NOAH has been a committed partner in protecting affordable homes in East Boston for decades. Through the City’s Acquisition Opportunity Program and this latest investment, these 111 homes can continue to provide stability for residents while receiving the improvements needed to remain affordable and sustainable for years to come.”
Since then, NOAH has kept these homes deeply affordable and made modest improvements. A future application to the State will provide additional capital for rehabilitations. Today, NOAH celebrates the first step in the process of recapitalizing the full portfolio, ensuring sustainability and affordability in these buildings for generations to come.
The financing brings together several public and private partners. Rockland Trust purchased a multimillion-dollar nonprofit bond issued through MassDevelopment, while the City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Housing and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities provided additional funding. The Boston Housing Authority also contributed resources to help lower rents for residents. Together, these investments will support the long-term preservation of the properties while helping NOAH continue to provide affordable housing in East Boston.
This portfolio reflects three goals that have guided NOAH’s preservation work: preventing displacement, maintaining affordable rents, and rehabilitating buildings sustainably. By investing in existing housing and protecting it for the long term, NOAH is helping ensure that East Boston remains a neighborhood where residents of different incomes and backgrounds can continue to live, work, and build their futures.
The development team includes Christine Rogers, development consultant. Joy2 Squared Design, architects. ACS, General Contractor. Kim Martin Epstein, Attorney, Hackett Feinberg. Mal Nelson, Director of Portfolio Operations, NOAH.
“MassDevelopment is proud to have issued a tax-exempt bond to help Neighborhood of Affordable Housing refinance 111 affordable housing units across 29 buildings in East Boston – an ambitious effort to preserve the affordability of these homes for the community,” said MassDevelopment Executive Vice President of Finance Programs Kathy McGilvray. “We are grateful to Rockland Trust for purchasing the bond and making tax-exempt financing possible for this project, an example of the progress that can be achieved through collaborative public, private, and nonprofit partnerships.”
“Rockland Trust is proud to support the recapitalization of Paco Properties,” said Rockland Trust Director of Real Estate, Richard Muraida. “This financing preserves and strengthens a vital portfolio of affordable housing, helping ensure that East Boston residents have access to quality, affordable homes for decades to come. We are pleased to partner with other stakeholders in support of NOAH, an organization with a longstanding commitment to delivering high-quality affordable housing and addressing the community’s housing needs.”
“Preserving affordable housing in East Boston is critical as rising property values and rents put increasing pressure on longtime residents. Protecting existing affordable homes—particularly in the neighborhood’s traditional three-decker housing stock—helps prevent displacement, preserves the community’s economic and cultural diversity, and ensures that families who have helped build East Boston can continue to call it home,” said Cindy Holler, President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Housing Capital.
“Protecting affordable housing means protecting the stability, dignity and opportunity of our communities,” said Karen Kelleher, President of BlueHub Loan Fund. “Reaching the start of renovations for this project took patience, persistence and close collaboration among NOAH, the City of Boston, the Commonwealth and its lending partners. We’re proud to have played a part in that work.”
“MHP is proud to be part of the history of PACO Properties.” said MHP Executive Director Rachel Heller. “Because of the efforts of Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, existing housing is being preserved and upgraded, and residents can stay in the community that they call home. Congratulations to NOAH on this milestone.”
“Preserving our existing affordable housing stock is essential to fighting displacement, protecting our longtime residents, and maintaining the stability of the neighborhood. This acquisition represents an important investment in ensuring residents can remain in the communities they call home while providing the resources needed to address critical building improvements,” said Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata. “By protecting affordability and investing in the long-term sustainability of these homes, we are helping create stronger, more stable neighborhoods for generations to come. I’m grateful to count on NOAH as a key partner in protecting affordable housing.”
“Thank you to NOAH, Sheila/the City and Rockland Trust for your critical work preserving affordable housing in my community of East Boston. At a time when housing costs continue to be high across the region and affordable homes are increasingly hard to come by, the preservation of these 111 units as affordable housing is a major victory for East Boston, said Representative Adrian Madaro. “Each home preserved as affordable means another family that’s able to remain in the neighborhood they call home. Affordability is a long-term investment in our community and the families that build it. Thank you to the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Community Housing Capital, Mass Housing Partnership and all the others who are participating with NOAH for being partners in securing these vital community assets.”
