Image courtesy of Rockland Trust Co.

A developer will use $14 million in construction financing from Rockland Trust Co. to revamp a pair of historic buildings in downtown Fitchburg into residential and commercial space.

Rees-Larkin Development LLC’s $23.9 million Moran Square redevelopment project will create 44 mixed-income housing units and 8,400 square feet of commercial space. The project includes adaptive reuse of the former Harper Furniture building and Summer Street fire station, along with new construction.

In addition to the construction loan, Rockland Trust will buy state tax credits and partner with Stratford Capital on federal tax credits that support the project. Additional financial partners include the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, MassHousing and the city of Fitchburg, in the form of state and federal tax credits and low-interest loans. 

The property is located one block from the Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center. Twenty units will be affordable to households earning less than 60 percent of the area medium income (AMI), with five units restricted for extremely low-income households earning less than 30 percent of AMI.