Patrick details neighborhood stabilization fund
The Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp., a private nonprofit funded by banks and corporate investors, will administer the new $20 million Neighborhood Stabilization Loan Fund, Governor Deval L. Patrick said earlier this week.
Patrick unveiled the program, which aims to help communities buy and stabilize abandoned properties, in April, and offered more details about the fund during an event this week at a Chelsea location where 44 homes are in foreclosure within a five-block radius, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership said.
According to its website, the partnership is a statewide public nonprofit organization that works with the Massachusetts governor's office to increase the supply of affordable housing in the commonwealth.
Patrick also announced that the stabilization loan fund has attracted interest from private foundations, including a $2 million contribution from the Boston Foundation and a $1 million contribution from the Hyams Foundation, the partnership said.
Those contributions complement the $17 million in private funds put forth by the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp. and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, the partnership said.
The program was initially envisioned as being exclusively for nonprofits, but it is now also available to for-profit developers; in both cases, developers must be working as part of a municipally-supported strategic development plan, the partnership said.
Developers interested in more information and a term sheet can go to www.mhp.net/neighborhoodloan, the partnership said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
