Photo courtesy of Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership

A newly completed development in Lowell’s Acre neighborhood created 33 affordable home ownership condominiums after receiving funding from the state’s Commonwealth Builder program.

Known as Suffolk Place, the project at 408 Suffolk St. has condos priced from $199,000 to $330,000 for qualified buyers earning 80 to 100 percent of area median income.

The Commonwealth Builder program was established in 2019 and has awarded over $221 million to developers of income-restricted home ownership projects. The subsidy provides forgivable subordinate construction loans for projects that reserve units for first-time home buying households earning 70 to 120 percent of area median income.

The city of Lowell also contributed Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds toward the Suffolk Place project.

Developer Suffolk Place LLC is led by Will Soucy and Don Garcia.

Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership [MHVP], a nonprofit housing counseling agency, acted as lottery and marketing agent. The Lowell-based nonprofit housing counseling agency provided first-time homebuyer education and mortgage counseling to prospective buyers. Several units remain available, according to MVHP.

MVHP is launching its own in-house down payment assistance program, Executive Director Cathy Mercado announced. It offers no-interest deferred loans for borrowers earning up to 100 percent of AMI.

The program was seeded with funding from Arise Federal Credit Union (formerly Rockland Federal Credit Union) and its charitable arm, the Pebbles Promise Foundation.