The Community Builders (TCB) has made a critical reinvestment in affordable housing it has owned for over three decades in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. It has preserved the affordability of 85 micro-units at The Aurora, including the addition of 25 units set aside as permanent supportive housing for at-risk young adults.
PROJECT DETAILS
Developer: The Community Builders
Architect: Architecture Environment Life
General Contractor: Keith Construction
Major Funders: City of Worcester; Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; Community Economic Development Assistance Corp.; MassHousing; Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments; Santander Bank
Originally constructed in 1897 as a hotel supporting the vibrant Main Street, the development adapted as Worcester changed and grew over the decades. It turned into single-room occupancy units in the late 1980s, with TCB taking ownership and converting to micro-units with individual bathrooms and kitchenettes.
In recent years, Worcester’s Central Business District has been undergoing a renaissance, with the addition of a new commuter rail line, a relocated minor league baseball team, market-rate housing, restaurants, entertainment, and retail. However, this growth has priced many low-income households out of the area and away from where they work. Facing those community changes along with major capital improvement needs and high operating costs, the time was right for TCB to take action.
“We wanted to not just preserve the historic building, but the nature of people who are living here and who are such an important and ingrained part of the community in Worcester,” says Julia Scannell, senior development project manager at TCB.
Courtesy The Community Builders
The nonprofit utilized 4% low-income housing tax credits, state and federal historic tax credits, and city and state resources for the $22.9 million project. The Aurora serves individuals earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, with a contract for 22 units subsidized by the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) remaining in place and the addition of the 25 supportive housing units through the MRVP.
Completed in June, all units underwent full renovations with new kitchens, cabinets, and bathrooms. Office space was added for TCB’s Community Life resident services program as well as for third-party service provider Open Sky Community Services. In addition, historic renovations were done on the community room, which now features an art gallery space that will celebrate the building’s history.