B’nai B’rith Housing Launches The Coolidge at Sudbury, Phase 2
Closes Financing and Breaks Ground on 56 Additional Units for Seniors
B’nai B’rith Housing’s Execustive Director breaks ground with members of the board and representatives from the development’s funders. From left to right: Rick Henken, BBH Board of Directors; Robert Shumeyko, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Marvin Siflinger, BBH Board of Directors; Tim McGourthy, Deputy Secretary, MA Office of Housing & Economic Development; Burt Gesserman, BBH Board President; Susan Gittelman, BBH Executive Director; Mark Teden, VP, Mass Housing; Clark Ziegler, Executive Director, Mass Housing Partnership; Michael Clarke, Senior VP, Bank of America|Merrill Lynch.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2019
(SUDBURY, MA) — B’nai B’rith Housing, a regional nonprofit housing developer, has broken ground on the second phase of The Coolidge at Sudbury apartments, which will provide an additional 56 affordable units for seniors.
Last night, The Sudbury Town Meeting approved an additional $320,000 of Community Preservation Funds for the development. The nonsectarian developer of affordable housing, based in Brighton, MA, has now closed on financing on the $20 million project.
On Friday, May 3, Susan Gittelman, Executive Director of B’nai B’rith Housing, state and town officials, and board members of B’nai B’rith Housing joined friends and supporters for a festive groundbreaking ceremony at The Coolidge at Sudbury’s fully occupied first phase building, located at 189 Boston Post Road, which opened in 2014 with affordable 64 apartments for adults 55 and older.
Phase 2 will be adjacent to the first residences and will open in 2020.
“It’s a challenge for seniors on a modest income to stay in their longtime communities,” said Gittelman. “What seniors need is their friends, their family, and a network of support around them to stay active and engaged.
“Our service-enriched housing model ensures that older adults don’t just have a roof over their heads but they have the support that they need and we are committed to providing the resources and tools older adults need to live life to the fullest.”
The Coolidge at Sudbury, Phase 2, which was designed by The Architectural Team, will include one-bedroom units and feature common spaces such as a meeting room, library, and fitness center. In keeping with BBH’s nationally recognized, service-enriched housing model, residents will have access to an on-site Resident Service Coordinator who will partner closely with Sudbury area senior service agencies to promote wellness, health, and educational programs for the all the residents of the building.
Rendering of B’nai B’rith Housing’s Phase 2 of The Coolidge at Sudbury, a 56-unit affordable housing development for seniors.
“I am so proud of this place,” said Richard Henken, a Sudbury resident and member of the B’nai B’rith Housing Board of Directors.
Robert Haarde, Chairperson of the Sudbury Board of Selectmen, thanked B’nai B’rith Housing and said, “Phase 1 of The Coolidge helped us meet not only our affordable housing goals but also our diversity housing goals. Everyone of course was on board for Coolidge Phase 2.”
Marvin Siflinger, President Emeritus of the Board of B’nai B’rith Housing, contrasted the relative ease of building affordable housing 40 years ago, when the federal government funded it, with today’s complex process, involving multiple agencies and funding sources.
“But with passion and commitment it gets done,” Siflinger said.
Tim McGourthy, Deputy Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development for Massachusetts, represented one of the many partners in the project. “I congratulate Sudbury for embracing and supporting The Coolidge,” said McGourthy.
“It enables Sudburians to stay here in the community, to grow old in the community, and as a state, that is a critical issue for us,” he said.
Representing Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, a partner in the project, Michael Clarke, Senior Vice President of Community Development, said, “It’s always wonderful to say the first phase was so successful that you had to come back for a second.”
“We have an extraordinary challenge facing us on the housing front,” said Clark Ziegler, Executive Director of the Mass Housing Partnership. “We don’t have enough housing for the new workers we need to fill our jobs. It’s an existential threat to the state economy.”
“We all have to step up,” he said. “We need leadership across the board. We need every town to step up like the Town of Sudbury. We need more nonprofit developers who really know what they’re doing, more private developers who will put their shoulders up against those immovable objects. Let’s do a lot more together.”
Gittelman said, “Civic life is really enriched by having longtime residents being involved in local institutions and local activities. And that’s what’s happening right here.”
Prior to the development of Phase 1 of The Coolidge at Sudbury, affordable housing for those 55 and over was scarce in the Sudbury area. With more than 25 percent of Sudbury households having at least one member who is over 60 years old — and 30 percent of Lincoln-Sudbury senior households earning less than $50,000 per year — the need for quality, service-enriched housing was critical.
Funding for The Coolidge at Sudbury Phase 2 has been provided by: Federal and State Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), with Bank of America as Investor; construction loan by Bank of America and permanent loan from Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP); state subsidies including HOME funds, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and the Housing Stabilization Fund (HSF); local support comes from the Town of Sudbury’s Housing Trust and the WestMetro HOME Consortium; additional support provided by the Charles H. Farnsworth Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee.
ABOUT B’NAI B’RITH HOUSING
B’nai B’rith Housing (BBH) is a regional nonprofit housing developer whose mission is to ease the housing crisis in the Greater Boston area. BBH works with cities and towns to create economically viable, affordable housing options which respond to the needs and aspirations of each community. BBH’s various award-winning housing developments, both rental and homeownership, are for young families and older adults, regardless of religion or background. For more information, please visit www.bbhousing.org.
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For more information, please contact Elijah Levine, BBH’s Fundraising & Communications Manager, at 617.283.6087 or website@bbhousing.org.
