The Watson on Howard, Quincy, Mass.
The Watson on Howard, Quincy, Mass.

A plan by WinnDevelopment for a unique workforce housing community in Massachusetts has received a boost from Gov. Charlie Baker, who chose the property as the backdrop for announcing a $1.3 billion housing bond bill to support similar projects throughout the state.

Baker’s announcement came Monday afternoon at the 1.7-acre site in Quincy, where WinnDevelopment and its nonprofit partner, NeighborWorks Southern Mass, are moving forward with plans to build a $44 million, 140-unit community that will feature the largest number of workforce units ever financed under MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative.

The long-vacant brick office building at the site will be demolished to make way for The Watson on Howard, a community of 28 affordable apartments at 50% of the area median income (AMI), 86 units of middle-income housing at 110% of the AMI, and 26 unrestricted market-rate units. The eight studio, 85 one-bedroom, and 47 two-bedroom units will feature market-rate finishes, and the property will include a gym, community room, and courtyard.

“This development is aimed at people who have incomes too high for subsidized housing but are priced out of affordable market rents as housing costs continue to rise,” said WinnCompanies CEO Gilbert Winn in a press release. “This is going to be a high-impact project for those who are underserved in the community, and we thank the Baker administration and MassHousing for their leadership to help make it happen.

“This project represents several firsts,” Winn added in the release. “Middle-income apartments make up almost two-thirds of the units, which is an outsized proportion nationally. The number of middle-income units is very substantial. And, finally, it’s rare to see new-construction projects of this size with income restrictions.”

The property abuts the former Fore River Shipyard, once the nation’s premier shipbuilding facility but largely dormant for three decades now. Community leaders hope the mixed-income development will create more private-investment opportunities in the area.

Combined with nearly $258 million in current, uncommitted capital authorization, the Baker administration’s housing bond bill would create more than $1.5 billion in capacity to support all types of workforce, low-income, and public housing in Massachusetts.

“We believe that making investments in affordable and moderate-income housing—so-called workforce housing—is a big part of how we continue to build a great commonwealth here in Massachusetts,” said Gov. Baker. “The lieutenant governor and I appreciate the creativity and imagination that WinnCompanies demonstrates in support of our efforts.”

Construction will be financed by Citigroup, city and state soft loans, low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity, deferred development fees, and equity from WinnDevelopment. The project’s income restrictions will be made possible through permanent financing and a workforce housing loan from MassHousing, city and state soft loans, LIHTC equity, deferred development fees, and equity driven by the Housing Development Incentive Program, a Massachusetts tax credit program for the creation of housing in cities like Quincy.

Led by WinnDevelopment vice president Meade Curtis, work on The Watson on Howard is scheduled to begin by June, with occupancy expected by July 2018. Cube 3 Studio is the architect; Dellbrook Construction, the general contractor.