Ongoing efforts to redevelop the Worcester Housing Authority’s Lakeside Apartments have received more support from the state, this time in the form of a $38-million, tax-exempt bond from MassDevelopment.
The bond will be used to finance the first phase of redevelopment, which will see existing buildings at 9 Garland St. and 34-46 Lakeside Ave. replaced with modern buildings built to passive housing standards, according to a MassDevelopment press release issued Tuesday. The bond will assist with the financing of 97 affordable units as part of the first phase of redevelopment, with a total of 116 new units being built as part of the redevelopment.
“Worcester is showing what’s possible when we reimagine public housing,” Ed Augustus, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and former city manager of Worcester, said in the press release. “In October, I stood at Lakeside apartments with the Worcester Housing Authority and said public housing deserves the same imagination, design excellence, and investment we expect everywhere else. This project delivers on that promise and continues Worcester’s leadership in creating sustainable public housing that reflects the dignity of the people who live here.”
The bond was purchased by Boston-based Eastern Bank with participation from Connecticut-based Webster Bank.
“The need for affordable housing has never been greater,” WHA CEO Alex Corrales said in the press release. “This redevelopment will bring renewed life to one of Worcester’s most beautiful neighborhoods while helping ensure that families of all backgrounds can continue to live, grow, and build their futures right here.”
In addition to the bond, MassDevelopment and the EOHLC worked to gain approval of $28.9 million in federal low-income housing tax credits for the project.
Redevelopment of the Lakeside Apartments is a joint venture between Newton-based E3 Development and Boston-based Tremont Development Partners and was first announced in 2022.
Tim Monahan and Mark Borenstein of Prince Lobel Tye represented WHA in the closing.
After WHA put out a call for state funds to support the project and others in Worcester in 2024, the project received $22.5 million in state subsidies and tax credits in February and an additional $2 million in support in November.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.
