Walker Park Apartments
Update
04/24/20
MHP Closes on $2.5M Permanent Loan for Walker Park Apartments
Continuing its history of supporting Urban Edge’s efforts to provide affordable housing for the residents of Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) has just closed on a $2.5 million low-interest permanent loan for Walker Park Apartments.
Located at 67 and 80 Walnut Park and just north of Egleston Square, Walker Park features 49 new affordable apartments in two energy-efficient buildings built on lots previously occupied by single-family homes that were vacant. One building is next to a public park and another is next to a branch of a Boston Public Library.
Named after the late Delphine Walker, neighborhood activist and mother who raised her family at 80 Walnut Park, Walker Park Apartments consists of 13 one-, 28 two- and 8 three-bedroom apartments. Thirty-eight apartments are affordable to households below 60 percent of area median income and 11 are affordable to families earning under 30 percent of area median income. Five of these homes are set aside for families transitioning from homelessness. Six of these homes are set aside for people with disabilities.
MHP’s $2.5 million loan enabled Urban Edge to secure low-cost financing with a 16-year term and 30-year amortization at an annual fixed interest rate of 3.88 percent. This was done through what’s known as a direct bond placement in which tax-exempt bonds issued by MassDevelopment were purchased by Bank of America, with its proceeds converted to an MHP permanent loan upon completion of construction and leasing of apartments.
“During these uncertain times, we are proud to be able to provide Urban Edge with this low-cost financing so it can continue to provide affordable housing and services to the neighborhoods and people it has served so well for over five decades,” said Clark Ziegler, MHP’s executive director. “Strong community-based nonprofits like Urban Edge hold the city’s neighborhoods together and we’re proud to support them at a time when they are needed more than ever.”
