Urban Edge Closes on First Sale
to New Homebuyer

Pictured are new homeowner, Arelis Rodriguez, far right; Mossik Hacobian, Executive Director of Urban Edge on far left; Urban Edge's President, Betty Green, second from left.

Before picture of home renovated by Urban Edge in their Section 8 to Homeownership Program.

After picture of home renovated by Urban Edge in their Section 8 to Homeownership Program.

The first Section 8 voucher holder, to benefit from a $400,000 grant presented, during June, 2002, by the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation to the Urban Edge Community Development Corporation of Boston, realized her dream to become a homeowner. She and her family moved into her new, 3 bedroom home on Saturday, September 14, 2002. The sale of the first Boston home to a Section 8 rental voucher holder was made possible through a very close collaboration of four cities, their PHAs, the State, and community development agencies and organizations all using HUD and other public funds and programs.

Urban Edge (under the creative leadership of Mossik Hacobian) and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation are already making homeownership a reality for several low-income families in the greater Boston area, in conjunction with the direct financial assistance from HUD through the Section 8 (Housing Choice) Program.

The $400,000 grant will provide down payment assistance to at least 30 more local families already entitled to HUD's Section 8 Homeownership Program vouchers administered through local housing authorities. The housing authorities involved in the program include Boston, Quincy, Weymouth, and Braintree.

The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and Urban Edge staff worked tirelessly, together, along with Citizens Bank, to accomplish the first Boston sale and closing under this new program. Urban Edge closed on its first sale to the family of four on September 10, 2002. The family, headed by a Mother who works as a day care teacher assistant, was extremely excited about winning the lottery for an opportunity to purchase her newly renovated, and beautiful property in Roxbury. The before and after photos of this property also portray a story about how one property's renovation also made a difference in the quality of life for a neighborhood. In collaboration with Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of South Shore, the collaborative is expecting to close on another house in Wayland and are working on a third sale in Weymouth.

Deborah Griswold, representing HUD's New England Regional Director, Kevin Keogh, expressed HUD's support for this creative opportunity for homeownership. "This exciting partnership between the private sector and the government will help more modest -income families in the Boston area to become homeowners", she said. Increased homeownership is the number one housing priority for Secretary Martinez and the Bush Administration.

Other current activities made possible by the funding are first time homebuyer classes and post- purchase classes conducted by both NHS of South Shore and Urban Edge in conjunction with the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. Urban Edge also offers rehabilitation loans to homeowners whose income is below 120% of the area median income. In addition, Urban Edge is currently continuing to counsel buyers who are looking at homeownership, and is already building four new homes on Westminster Ave. in Roxbury, two of which will be targeted toward Section 8 voucher holders. Finally, with HUD HOME funding and other resources from the City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts, Urban Edge is also building homes that will be affordable to households whose income is below 80% of the area median.

As a community development organization, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation supports innovative local partnerships between residents, businesses, and government, and advances broader community development goals. Targeting the Boston area, Urban Edge is recognized as a non-profit, community development corporation (CDC) that develops homeownership opportunities and creates and manages multi-family, resident-controlled housing. HUD's Section 8 Program is a voucher program available to qualified lower-income individuals or families to rent or to buy a home. The Section 8 Homeownership Program vouchers assist first-time homeowners with their monthly homeownership expenses and are available through local Public Housing Authorities.

For more information on Urban Edge (http://www.urbanedge.org) and its programs, visit their website. Information on the Section 8 Program and Homeownership vouchers is available on HUD's website.

Interested Boston, Massachusetts applicants can contact:

Eva Osorio at (617) 541-2595
Meena Jacob at (617) 541-2561

Interested South Shore and Greater Boston applicants can contact:

Dwayne Watts at (617) 770-2227, ext. 30
Debbie Kidd at (617) 770-2227, ext. 24

Content Archived: April 1, 2011