On Monday, Governor Maura Healey and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus announced $15 million in Housing Development Inceptive Program (HDIP) awards to create 829 new homes in six Gateway Cities, kicking off the program’s first funding round of 2025.
The announcement took place in Revere, which is receiving two awards for the overall development of market-rate housing on the former Suffolk Downs site with the Portico 1 and 2 projects.
“These HDIP awards are a powerful tool in helping our Gateway Cities create housing and revitalize our downtowns, neighborhoods and underutilized properties,” said Healey. “Our expansion of the HDIP program under my tax cuts package has played a critical role in driving the nearly 100,000 new homes that have been built or are under development since we took office. These awards are helping communities build the housing they need, supporting local economies and ultimately making housing more affordable and attainable for everyone.”
Earlier this year, the Revere City Council approved a HDIP District at Suffolk Downs. At the time, Revere Housing and Community Development Director Tom Skwieraski said the tool provides a housing developer with the opportunity to receive both state tax credits and to enter a local Tax Increment Exemption agreement with the City of Revere.
“State HDIP funding unlocks business opportunities that provide Revere with tax revenues, infrastructure improvements, and investment in our families and communities,” said Mayor Patrick Keefe “This award cements Revere’s position as a destination, rich with lively, thriving businesses and community spaces, while also giving us the financial power to better the quality of lives for our existing residents, from our roads, to our water systems, to our schools. We are grateful to Governor Healey for bringing the benefits of this initiative to Revere, and excited for the future to come.”
Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll said people in Massachusetts are excited to build a life, a career, and a family in the state and need reasonably-priced housing options that help them achieve those goals.
“I am grateful to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for bringing critical resources to the 16th Suffolk through the Housing Development Incentive Program,” said State Representative Jessica Giannino. “The Suffolk Downs site marks a major milestone in Revere’s development, and it’s inspiring to see EOHLC’s strong support driving this project forward for our city.”
State Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus said he is proud to be part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration, which he said grasps the importance of partnering with communities to build more housing of every kind.
“HDIP is one of the most effective tools we have to spur market-rate housing development in Gateway Cities,” Augustus said. “The developments receiving awards today not only create more homes, they are also transformative – restoring pride and helping create the type of neighborhoods where people aspire to live.”
Signed by Governor Healey in October 2023, the annual HDIP program cap was raised to $30 million annually with a one-time increase of $57 million. This resulted in the administration awarding a total of $72 million to create 1,544 new housing units in Gateway Cities in 2024. HDIP is an effective and valuable tool for the state’s Gateway Cities to produce more market-rate housing to support economic development, expand the diversity of the housing stock and create more vibrant neighborhoods.
The additional five awardees in the funding round include the Bedford Street Lofts in Fall River, 533 Main Street in Fitchburg, District Square in Haverhill, 484 Merrimack in Lowell, and 17 Pearl in Worcester.
Monday’s announcement follows the recent one-year anniversary of Governor Healey signing the Affordable Homes Act into law, which was the state’s most ambitious investment in housing in history. This law – combined with the administration’s other initiatives such as converting vacant state-owned land into housing, commercial to housing conversions, the MBTA Communities Law, creation of the Momentum Fund, and sizable increases in housing tax credits and subsidies – are already delivering results for the people of Massachusetts. As a result, more than 90,000 new homes have been built or are in development since Governor Healey took office, according to the governor’s office.
