By Journal Staff
The Board of Trustees of the Revere Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday evening, July 9, in the City Council Chambers. Chair Joseph Gravallese was joined by Treasurer Anayo Osueke and fellow board members Dean Harris, new member Judy Gosselin, Matt Wolfer, Deb Wolfer, and Laila Pietri.
Osueke presented the treasurer’s report. He said the AHTF has a balance in its account of $910,658.78, which is an increase (thanks to accrued interest) from last month’s balance of $907,943.33.
However, Gravallese added a couple of “caveats” about that figure, mentioning that funds previously approved by the board for two programs, The Neighborhood Developers’ project on Ocean Ave. and the First-Time Homebuyer program, have yet to to be drawn from the AHTF’s account.
The board heard from Tim Gray from North Suffolk Community Services, an organization that has been operating in Revere for about 65 years providing services and residential programs for disabled individuals. He said No. Suffolk presently has 10 residential programs in the city.
Gray discussed No. Suffolk’s project at 131 Hichborn St., which has housed five individuals for the past 35 years. Gray said that the former home has been demolished and is being replaced by a new duplex that will contain nine apartment units for developmentally-disabled persons. All of the units will be accessible (in contrast to the former property that lacked accessibility).
“It’s a beautiful, state-of-the-art project in terms of accessibility and the energy efficiencies that have been built into it,” said Gray, who said the project is 80% completed.
Gray came before the AHTF because a $300,000 grant (which represents about 10% of the total cost of the project) that initially had been received by No. Suffolk required an environmental review, including a historic site assessment, which, because of a time lag involving permitting issues, eventually resulted in a loss of the grant.
Gray said that No. Suffolk is looking to the AHTF to help “fill that gap” as much as possible. He noted that the residents of the soon-to-be-completed home, whose incomes are below 30% of the average median income (AMI) of this area, are extremely impoverished with no chance of improving their financial situation.
Gray said that all of the referrals for residents for the units come from the state. He added that the waiting list for apartments administered by No. Suffolk can be decades-long.
“We would be grateful for any amount of money, any commitment at all, to help us offset the loss of that grant,” said Gray, who noted that the funds will not be needed until 2026 when No. Suffolk closes on its various loans.
“What will happen if you have to fill this entire gap through conventional financing?” asked Wolfer, to which Gray replied that No. Suffolk will need to borrow more money from its lenders and therefore the carrying costs will be greater.
Gray noted that No. Suffolk has 1000 employees, of whom 100 are Revere residents. “We are a huge economic force in the communities we serve,” Gray said.
However, Gravallese said that the AHTF has to face “budget realities,” referring both to the funds already committed by the AHTF to the programs that he mentioned at the start of the meeting and the reduction in funding this year from the city. He further added that the “cost per unit” (which would be about $33,333 per unit if the AHTF were to give the entire $300,000 to No. Suffolk) for the project is not comparable to other projects being funded by the AHTF to which the AHTF is contributing a lesser amount per unit.
By contrast, prior to the AHTF’s current budget constraints, last year the AHTF spent $500,000 to subsidize the purchase of two condo units at a development on Salem St. This amounted to a subsidy of about $250,000 per unit for each of those two buyers. The $500,000 expenditure from the AHTF’s funds for those two units accounted for almost 50% of the AHTF’s total cash-on-hand at that time.
Gray thanked the board for their time and the board said it will revisit his request in the months ahead. In the meantime, both Gray and Gravallese noted that alternative sources of funding may come along.
The members next discussed the potential for a Senior Citizen Home Repair program to provide financial support to low-income seniors who have lived in Revere for decades to help ensure their ability to age-in-place in their current homes. Among the types of repairs eligible for the program would be ramps, handrails, and similar projects to improve accessibility, and HVAC improvements. Gravallese said the loan limit would be $5000 per residence and eligibility would be based on age (60 and older) and 80% of AMI for each household.
Gravallese discussed the specifics of the application process, for which the city’s Elder Services Dept. will provide assistance to applicants. He said that the initial funding stream from the AHTF would amount to $37,500 which will be added to a $12,500 donation that former House Speaker Robert DeLeo already has made to the Elder Services Department.
Gravallese then made a motion to approve the $37,500 expenditure for the project. The board unanimously voted in favor of that motion, as well as another motion to adopt the parameters of the application process.
“This has been a journey of about two years,” said Gravallese. “I think this is a way that we can tangibly help people who really need it in order for them to remain in our community and for them to age in place in their homes.”
The members next discussed whether to support a loan program for homeowners who wish to add an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to their homes pursuant to the new state law and the city ordinance which has brought Revere into compliance with the state statute. The AHTF has been discussing a program that initially would consist of five, $10,000 loans that would be fully-forgivable if the units are rented for five years to low-income tenants.
Gravallese did not ask for a vote from the members, but suggested that they review the proposal for the program so that they can take a vote at their August meeting.
