Massachusetts RealEstateRama

WASHINGTON, DC - July 23, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Third District communities Gardner and Methuen will receive $900,000 and $417,295, respectively, in federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to support housing rehabilitation, public service projects and local infrastructure.

SPRINGFIELD - July 9, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Deval Patrick today announced $83.6 million in funding to create 24 affordable housing projects across the state, building on the Patrick Administration’s commitment to improving housing infrastructure to support growth and opportunity throughout the Commonwealth. In all, the projects will create 1,328 units of housing and over 2,000 jobs.

BOSTON - June 23, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Martin J. Walsh, along with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Regional Administrator Kristine Foye and Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development Director Sheila Dillon, announced that the City of Boston has received an additional $1.2 million to provide permanent and transitional housing for 60 formerly homeless individuals and families. The new award is part of HUD’s Continuum of Care program, which awarded $140 million in grants yesterday to nearly 900 homeless assistance programs across the country.

Washington, DC - June 23, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Joe Kennedy (MA-4) and Congressman Bill Keating (MA-9) today announced that Fall River will receive $3,600,739 in federal grants from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grants will be provided through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG), and HOME programs

BOSTON - June 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A $550 million nationwide federal-state settlement with mortgage lender and servicer SunTrust Mortgage Inc. over mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses will provide direct payments to eligible Massachusetts borrowers for past foreclosure abuses, along with loan modifications and other relief for borrowers in need of assistance, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.

Springfield, MA - June 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Domenic J. Sarno will be on hand to showcase a home completely restored by Springfield high school students as an outcome of collaboration between the City of Springfield and Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy. Several classes of students worked hands on to rehabilitate a vacant, dilapidated property that was foreclosed for the non-payment of taxes by the City of Springfield. The opportunity has provided students a unique, hands-on, educational experience.

BOSTON - June 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- After arguing that the FAIR Plan’s proposed home insurance rate increases for more than 150,000 Massachusetts families were excessive, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that the Division of Insurance (DOI) rejected the rate request in a decision issued today. The decision saves homeowners from having to pay an additional $16 million in policy premiums

BOSTON - May 22, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has awarded $200,000 to support affordable sober housing programs for men in Fitchburg and veterans and their families in Quincy. The MassHousing grants will come from the Center for Community Recovery Innovations, Inc. (CCRI), a nonprofit subsidiary corporation of MassHousing that supports non-profits that create or preserve affordable sober housing in Massachusetts for recovering substance abusers.

BOSTON - May 22, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Residents of the 64-unit Middlebury Arms apartment community in Middleborough will see major renovations to the property as a result of $9.2 million in MassHousing financing.

BOSTON - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Saying in a letter file size 2MB today that the use of buyback programs and principal reductions are “key to helping homeowners recover from this foreclosure crisis,” Attorney General Martha Coakley urged the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to use buybacks or face legal action

CHELSEA - May 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Deval Patrick today joined local officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony of Flats at 44, the first Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP) project to be completed.

BOSTON - April 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Deval Patrick today announced $1 million in funding to connect homeless and low-income families with services to help some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable citizens overcome barriers to work and succeed in life. These Secure Jobs Initiative grants will help connect them with suitable employers in jobs with long-term career pathways. The Governor made the announcement at the Jewish Vocational Services organization in Boston, which assists individuals from diverse communities to find employment and build careers

BOSTON - April 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing has honored its 2013 top-producing lenders for their commitment to affordable homeownership in Massachusetts while helping to provide more than $1 billion in MassHousing Mortgage loans to nearly 5,000 low and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners

Boston - April 9, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the Greenovate Boston Mayor’s Carbon Cup, a voluntary recognition program for large hospitals, universities, and commercial building portfolios committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 35% by 2020. In order for the City of Boston to reach its citywide target of reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) by 25% by 2020, large building portfolios will need to lead by aiming for a higher GHG reduction target.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Are there fairies and elves living in Franklin Park? While City officials will not speak on the record, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department appears to be hedging its bets by co-hosting a Fairy Home Building Workshop with the Franklin Park Coalition on Friday, April 25, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the enchanted Schoolmaster Hill portion of Franklin Park overlooking the rolling William Devine golf course