JOSEPH KRIESBERG ‘Partnership’ is critical
Suburban communities near Boston that want to see more affordable housing produced will get some help from an organization that has pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into city neighborhoods.
The Local Initiatives Support Corp., a community development funding and support organization best known for helping to revitalize low-income urban neighborhoods, recently launched the Suburban Housing Initiative. As part of the initiative, nonprofit community-based groups in Greater Boston can apply for grants, loans and technical assistance to produce affordable housing that employs smart-growth principles.
The Boston metro area is one of the first places where LISC’s approach will be tried in communities that have offered little housing for lower-income families.
“We’re doing [the initiative] because we recognize there’s a regional housing crisis and our history and experience tells us that over time community-based efforts – apt community development – can really pay off,” said Mathew Thall, senior program director of Boston LISC.
The initiative comes at a time when growing concerns over escalating housing costs, urban sprawl and the loss of open space have captured the attention of state and local officials.
It also comes as many communities have waged fierce battles to control housing development and growth. Frustrated by rampant growth, some community leaders have urged state lawmakers to revamp Chapter 40B, the state’s so-called anti-snob zoning law, which they believe is being abused by developers to build overly dense housing projects in inappropriate areas.
Under Chapter 40B, developers can seek a speedier permitting process in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is affordable if they set aside a portion of the housing units for low- and moderate-income families.
The LISC suburban housing program is targeted specifically to those communities where less than 10 percent of the housing is state-certified as affordable. About 100 communities, extending out to Interstate 495, are eligible to seek funding under the program, said Thall.
‘Moving Forward’
Joseph Kriesberg, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations, said the LISC initiative is important because funding will be directed to community-based organizations that have local residents as board members. Those residents will be in a better position to determine which housing solutions will be best for the community, explained Kriesberg.
“They’re not going to want to see projects that are going to be out of character with their community,” said Kriesberg.
Funding from the program can be provided to a community-based group that partners with a regional organization or even a private developer. Groups seeking funding through the LISC program don’t necessarily have to be the developers, but they must identify the affordable housing projects that they will help to get built.
That type of flexibility is important because there are many community groups that can do the planning and outreach but aren’t in the position to get a loan or hire a contractor, according to Kriesberg.
“Partnership is going to be critical to having this succeed,” he said.
However, program supporters acknowledge that the initiative is not suited for every community.
“We are expecting to work in communities where community-based efforts are most like to succeed,” said Thall, in a press release announcing the program. “We will look for evidence of support by local officials for the nonprofit organization’s request for LISC help and local community resources available for affordable housing. We do believe that local citizens can be effective at ameliorating and isolating opposition to housing. One of the important goals of the program is to advance environmentally sensitive affordable housing developments that can readily gain broad-based community acceptance and support.”
Founded in 1980, LISC has headquarters in New York City and operates local programs in 38 cities, including Boston. LISC provides support to community development corporations for economic development and affordable housing projects.
The Boston program alone has provided more than 500 grants totaling over $10 million since 1981. Financing has been provided for over 5,900 affordable housing units and 1 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space.
Under the Suburban Housing Initiative, LISC anticipates making $150,000 in grant awards in the first year, and providing about $400,000 in loans for pre-development and construction costs, said Thall.
Initial funding for the program was provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Fannie Mae Foundation. However, the support must ultimately come from Boston-area companies and institutions, according to Thall.
So far, Banknorth is the first regional company to invest in the initiative, and Eastern Bank has also contributed to the LISC program.
“We’re moving forward with this program with probably less funding than we would like to have,” said Thall.
However, Thall added that the “availability of capital is not a problem.”
“If there are good projects out there, we expect to have sufficient loan capital there to help them,” he said.
