MassHousing Loan Commitment of up to $14.4 Million will Preserve Affordable Housing for Seniors and Families at Mountain View Terrace in Stoneham

All 194 apartments at housing community near Interstate 93 will stay affordable

BOSTON, MA – January 11, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) –January 11, 2010 – MassHousing announced a loan commitment today of up to $14.4 million to preserve affordability at Mountain View Terrace in Stoneham, a 194-apartment housing community for senior citizens and families.

The Atlantic Tambone Company of Lynnfield owns Mountain View Terrace. As part of MassHousing’s loan commitment, the owner will seek to extend the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract on all 194 apartments at Mountain View Village for the longest term possible, typically 20 years.

Mountain View Terrace is being refinanced through MassHousing’s Section 8 Proactive Preservation Program, which seeks to extend affordability at developments where Section 8 HAP contracts are due to expire. The HAP contract at Mountain View Terrace expires on February 28, 2011.

“Mountain View Terrace is a valuable affordable housing resource for the senior citizens and families who reside there as well as the town of Stoneham and we are very pleased that this MassHousing loan commitment will preserve that affordability for years to come,’’ said MassHousing Executive Director Thomas R. Gleason. Built in 1981, Mountain View Terrace is located near Interstate 93 in seven residential buildings. The MassHousing taxable permanent loan will help fund a capital improvement escrow for improvements that include window and door replacement, fire alarm system and ADA upgrades and repairs to concrete balconies.

About the MassHousing Section 8 Proactive Preservation Program
The Section 8 Proactive Preservation Program targets a group of 71 affordable rental developments that were originally financed by MassHousing and are eligible to convert to market rate between 2009 and 2013. Each of these developments receives a subsidy from HUD that is used to help pay the tenants’ rents each month. However, if the mortgage is paid off, there are no more affordability restrictions or any incentives from HUD to keep the properties affordable unless the owner agrees to renew the Section 8 contract. Through this program, MassHousing now provides those incentives.

About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 and charged with providing financing for affordable housing in Massachusetts. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve affordable and/or mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations, although it administers some publicly funded programs on behalf of the Commonwealth. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $5.6 billion for rental housing and more than $4.8 billion for homeownership. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com.

Contacts
Eric Gedstad: 617.854.1079 | egedstad (at) masshousing (dot) com
Tom Farmer: 617.854.1843 | tfarmer (at) masshousing (dot) com