MA Housing Secretary joins Cambridge officials and developer Preservation of Affordable Housing to launch renovations of former church rectory and school in East Cambridge
Cambridge, MA – Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus and Vice Mayor Marc McGovern joined nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing to launch the start of renovations at the former Sacred Heart church rectory and school in East Cambridge that will be converted into 46 affordable apartments by the winter of 2027.
The Rose on Sixth Street, an adaptive reuse project, will create affordable homes for the community while preserving and restoring the architectural character of the two historic structures and will include 34 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments and 12 with three or more bedrooms. The property will serve a range of incomes below the 80% Area Median Income, with eight of the apartments targeted to extremely low-income households at risk of homelessness.
POAH will repurpose the existing structures while restoring and preserving their historical facades and interiors. The housing will create high-quality, energy-efficient homes that are affordable in perpetuity.
“EOHLC is proud to contribute over $2.4 million to this important project led by POAH to create 46 affordable homes for families in East Cambridge,” said Ed Augustus, Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities. “By repurposing a historic school and parish rectory, we’re preserving the building’s rich architecture while providing much-needed affordable housing for the community.”
EOHLC is providing $2.4 million in a combination of grants and loans and an additional allocation of 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits and state Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
“We are thrilled to see 46 new affordable units move forward and greatly appreciate POAH’s work to advance a plan for these new homes by converting existing buildings to housing through the City’s Affordable Housing Overlay provisions,” said Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang. “We greatly appreciate the continued funding commitments made by the City’s Affordable Housing Trust, EOHLC and other supporters that will make it possible to create these new affordable homes.”
“POAH looks forward to transforming this historic property into well-designed, high quality and attractive apartments that will offer critical housing opportunities to residents who would otherwise not
be able to afford to live in the city of Cambridge,” said POAH President/CEO Aaron Gornstein. “We are grateful for the support and collaboration of our partners, all of whom are making this exciting project possible.”
“I have been collaborating with the POAH team for several years on affordable housing projects. These revitalization efforts offer innovative solutions for increasing housing availability in desirable neighborhoods while preserving local architectural history,” said Kelly Nguyen, Vice President and Commercial Banker at Rockland Trust.
The apartments will be developed under Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) ordinance (adopted by the City in 2020 to promote the creation of affordable housing by streamlining the zoning process) and will remain affordable in perpetuity.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
City of Cambridge Housing Department
Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
Massachusetts Housing Partnership
Boston Financial Investment Management
Rockland Trust Bank
Citizens Bank
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston
National Parks Service
Massachusetts Historic Commission
About POAH:
Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) is a nonprofit developer, owner, and operator of more than 14,000 affordable homes in 13 states and the District of Columbia, including 154 apartments in North Cambridge. POAH’s primary mission is to preserve, create, and sustain affordable, healthy homes that support economic security and access to opportunity for all. | www.poah.org and @poahcommunities