2005 Section 108 Project Summary - Massachusetts

Economic Development

Boot Cotton Mills - West Mill Project
BORROWER: LOWELL
STATE: MA
SECTION 108 LOAN GUARANTEE AMOUNT: $2,500,000

Lowell will use the Section 108 Guaranteed Loan to assist in financing the remodeling of the West Mill of the Boott Cotton Mills complex in downtown Lowell, which will be the fourth and final phase of the rehabilitation of the historic Boott Cotton Mills. This final phase will be the rehabilitation of former mill space into multiple office spaces to lease to business tenants. The new office tenants expect to create approximately 130 new jobs of which 51% will be available to or held by low to moderate-income persons. Also, a condominium project in this final phase that is contiguous to the office spaces in the building will be simultaneously developed into a 108 unit-complex of market rate residential housing condominiums, which will meet the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) national objective of activities to eliminate slums or blight on a spot basis Although this residential condominium is funded privately, the city must demonstrate that this residential condominium also meets a CDBG national because the private developer's bank loan for the rehabilitating office spaces and residential condominium space requires a first mortgage lien on both projects that can be used for loan repayment in the event the developer defaults on repaying the bank's loan for either the office spaces or the housing condominium.

Hamilton Canal District Dev. Project
BORROWER: LOWELL
STATE: MA
SECTION 108 LOAN GUARANTEE AMOUNT: $3,000,000

Lowell will use its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan to assist in financing the Hamilton Canal District Development Project within Lowell's Federally-designated Renewal Community. The City will use $2,000,000 of a Brownfield Economic Development initiative grant and guaranteed loan funds to acquire and assemble an 18.8-acre site. The site will be combined with a 31, 300 square foot plot of land currently owed by the City for conveyance to a Master Developer. The Master Developer will create a build-out plan and sell individual sites to developers for retail, restaurant, and office space as well as some residential structures. This project is estimated to create 375 jobs of which 51% will be available to or held by low and moderate-income persons.

Housing Rehabilitation

Lawrence Manufacturing Mills Project
BORROWER: LOWELL
STATE: MA
SECTION 108 LOAN GUARANTEE AMOUNT: $3,000,000

Lowell will use its Section 108 Guaranteed Loan to acquire the former Lawrence textile mill and convert it in to 152 market rate residential condominium units. The site is located within Lowell's Federally-designated Enterprise Community (EC). In 1999, HUD approved the city's proposal to this same area designate this area as a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA). The NRSA designation permits housing units assisted pursuant to that strategy to be considered part of a single structure for purposes of meeting the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) national objective for providing housing of which low and moderate households must occupy 51% of the housing structures. When the housing created by the Lawrence Manufacturing Mills project are aggregated with the housing structures receiving CDBG assistance in the NRSA, over 51% of assisted structures will be occupied by low-and moderate-income households.

 
May 19, 2011