Noquochoke Village dealt funding blow but backers aim to try again

Posted 9/24/15

WESTPORT — Efforts to build affordable housing at Noquochoke Village in Westport suffered a setback recently when the state rejected the developer’s bid for crucial tax credits needed to finance the project.

It’s the second such …

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Noquochoke Village dealt funding blow but backers aim to try again

Posted

WESTPORT — Efforts to build affordable housing at Noquochoke Village in Westport suffered a setback recently when the state rejected the developer’s bid for crucial tax credits needed to finance the project.

It’s the second such rejection and leaves proponents of the project baffled and disappointed. But they also say their effort will continue and that the third try may be the charm.

“That phone call alerting me to the rejection  — I was just … I couldn’t believe it,” said Elizabeth Collins, chairwoman of the Westport Housing Authority.

Rejection of the first application last year was also a disappointment, “but we were reassured that hardly anyone gets it in the first round, that we had a much better chance in the second round.”

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) makes the decisions on which housing projects are approved for tax credit funding.

The Community Builders, the non-profit development company chosen to develop 50-unit Noquochoke Village, prepared the application for both the first and second-round attempts.

Eliza Edelsberg Datta, the company’s vice president for development, sent this message to Westport:

“DHCD made its award announcements yesterday. Unfortunately, Noquochoke did not receive an award in this round. Needless to say, we are very disappointed by this outcome. Although we got positive feedback from DHCD after the last application round, it’s possible that priorities have shifted under the new administration. We will try to get more specific feedback from DHCD in the coming week and will keep you posted.”

“Certainly we are disappointed,” said the town’s housing specialist Leonardi Aray.”We didn’t see that coming.”

He, too, said he is anxious to hear the explanation. “I do know that there are a lot of projects out there — up in the Boston area, North Shore —going for this money.” He said he has been assured that The Community Builders will continue to pursue the tax credits.

Next up for Westport and The Community Builders will be a debriefing at which DHCD will, Ms. Collins hopes, explain why the Westport project was shot down for a second time and what must be done to improve chances of success in a third try.

She said she reached out to Senator Michael Rodrigues and Rep. Paul Schmid.

“I felt much better after talking to them,” she said. Sen. Rodrigues said he has been pushing not only for Noquochoke Village but  also for projects in Dartmouth (the former Lincoln Park property) and in Fall River (the former Fall River Knitting Mills).

“He told me that it does sometimes take a third time to win approval — that was reassuring.”

This time, she wants the debriefing done in person — the last debriefing, a quick phone conversation, left her and The Community Builders unclear on the reasons for rejection.

The bad news comes not long after the town Housing Authority wrote an upbeat progress report on the Noquochoke project.

Town meeting voters had approved using $280,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for Noquochoke, a suitable septic site had been chosen and the 28-acre land transfer of the former Quinn and Perry farms had been completed.

“Plans call for the construction of 50 quality affordable apartments in seven townhouse style buildings and a community center on the front portion of the site,” the Housing Trust said, with the remainder of the land closest to the river to be protected with a conservation restriction for passive recreational use by town residents. The estimated total development costs for Noquochoke Village are $15,500,000.

T, Tax credits, The Community Builders

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