UTEC Secret to Social Enterprise's Success Springs from Old Mattresses
February 24, 2017- UTEC mattress recycling program services picks up, deconstructs and recycles mattresses from across northern New England. UTEC makes most of its money on the fees it charges for picking up old mattresses from hotels, towns and colleges, but its business model isn't about saving matresses from landfills and incinerators. It's about recycling the lives of young gang members and inmates who work there. UTEC has a commercial kitchen cafe, and a woodworking factory where young workers turn out cutting boards for Whole Foods. But everyone starts out in mattresses. With team work UTEC is able to tear through 25,000 mattresses a year. It's estimated there are 30 youth gangs in Lowell area, with 1,500 members. UTEC sends out teams of gang-savvy street workers into jails to do outreach and encourage those with criminal records and troubled histories to join the social, educational and employment programs UTEC offers. To read more on UTEC's mattress recycling program Click Here.
A Home for Homeless Services
February 08, 2017- Affirmative Investments is helping Horizons for Homeless children and Watermark Development secure and structure financing for a new seven-story building for social service agencies. The new construction 135,000 square feet build is slated for construction on Colombus Ave on the Roxbury/ Jamaica Plain line.
Melnea Hotel Closing
December 28, 2016 â The Melnea Hotel closed financing at the year-end and will now begin construction of a new 135-bed Marriot Residence Inn hotel at the corner of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Washington Street in Dudley Square. Affirmative structured the $40 million EZ Bond and NMTC financing and AI Wainwright brought $8.95 million of allocation to the project. Not only will it create 46 new jobs, it will create vitality and a 24-hour presence. The Hotel plans to work closely with the community on jobs, events, catering, artwork.
St. Patrick's Place
December 10, 2016- Our hearts go out to the residents of St Patrickâs Place in Cambridge who were displaced by a tragic fire on December 9th 2016. St. Patrick was one of the first LIHTC deals that Affirmative did in 1994. Located in Cambridge MA, St. Patrick's was also one of the first Catholic churches in the country to be converted into affordable housing. St Patrick residents considered their community a family. Marcia Jones, a resident for 20 years, former crossing guard and cafeteria worker who lives on disability told herself she was OK losing photos- âweâll just take new pictures,â she said, managing a laugh. But she is heartbroken over the loss of her apartment community, the laughter in the laundry room, the stories and smiles shared in the hallway. Jones said âMy neighbors, man, weâre a family, I love my neighbors.â Several families who fled their countries found a haven at St Patrickâs Place and were grateful to live in an affordable complex with family sized units, a rarity.
Alma Del Mar Charter School Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
September 22, 2016- The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the new 43,000 square-foot Alma Del Mar Charter School in New Bedford, MA. The new building will allow the school to grow from 240 to 450 âscholarsâ. Affirmative assisted Alma del Mar in securing and structuring $14.75 million of NMTC allocation from MassDevelopment and Chase and $9.76 million of tax-exempt bond financing from Boston Private Bank. Will Gardner, headmaster of Alma, said that the building was new but the âschoolâs goal to put students on the path to college and challenge them to become service-based leaders remainsâ. The students sing about their goals in the video below.
Three Affirmative Projects Win 9% LIHTC Awards from DHCD
August 15, 2016- Three projects that Affirmative is working on won 9% Tax Credits and State Resources that will allow them to move forward to closing and construction. Harmon Apartments, in South Dorchester, a Co-Development of Affirmative and The Boston Home, will create 36 units of housing for residents with neurological disabilities. 30 of the 36 units will be affordable. Paris Village a project of East Boston CDC, will create 32 units of affordable family housing in the rapidly gentrifying East Boston. Lincoln Senior Housing, a project of Bristol Pacific, will create 48 affordable senior housing units in Dartmouth, MA. We anticipate closing all three projects in the first quarter of 2017.
Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE) Receives a BSA 2016 Sustainable Design Award Boston, MA.
July 2016- Franhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, a research and office facility located in South Boston, has recently been recognized by the Boston Society of Architects for a Sustainable Design Award.
Harvard leads $1.6M expansion for research computing and data center in Holyoke
June 01, 2016- A $95 million facility in Holyoke that was built four years ago for research projects that require intense computing is already at a point where it needs more computer power. Harvard University will be leading a $1.6 million expansion. Affirmative secured $50 million of NMTC allocation for the construction of the data center in 2011. The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, will increase the computing power capacity so that researchers will be able to conduct more expirements faster and more comprehensively. Click Here to read more on the expansion of MGHPCC.
Artist for Humanity Celebrates 25th Anniversary
April 30th, 2016- Artists for Humanity celebrated its 25th year anniversary with the âGreatest Party on Earthâ which drew 700 guests. AFH produced this video to mark the occasion. Affirmative Investments is currently working with Artist for Humanity on undertaking a 52,000 SF expansion of its current EpiCenter building in Boston, MA.
A partnership between Brockton Neighborhood Health Center and Vicente's Supermarket, two clients of Affirmative, shows what economic development can do when it makes community health a priority
April 19, 2016- YES! Magazine featured Brockton Neighborhood Health Center and Vicente's Supermarket in an article called, "How a Health Clinic Made a Local Grocery Store Part of Its Perscription" Together, BNHC and Vicente's tapped into a complex mix of public, private, and philanthropic funding to help open the doors, including $12 million assembled from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's (LISC) national lending pool and Healthy Futures Fund. The thinking behind the partnership was basic: Good nutrition is a critical component of good health. Indeed, with nearly one in four Brockton residents living in poverty- along with high rates of diabetes and obesity, and a population of immigrants and first generations residents for whom food is cultural touchstone, it would be difficult to tackle chronic health conditions without a focus on food. The result is a level of community outreach an on-site education built on the expertise of both BNHC and Vicente's. The health center offers a range of primary care, urgent care, dental, vision, and mental health services, along with teen programs and nutrition counseling.
