AYER — Residents of the Devenscrest Village neighborhood got a win this week after Braintree-based real-estate firm Schochet announced its acquisition of the land in a bid to keep rents affordable for the residents living there.
The family that once owned Devenscrest, a neighborhood built after the end of World War II, had intentionally kept rents low for its residents for decades, which kept it affordable as housing costs continued to rise otherwise.
This is how it remained until 2021, when the neighborhood was purchased by luxury residential and commercial property developer Brady Sullivan Properties, which quickly sent out notices to residents that they had to leave their homes within 60 days. The Devenscrest Tenants Association has been pushing back ever since to affordably remain in their homes.
Last summer the state put its support behind the DCTA, and along with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, the effort began to find a new buyer that would keep rents affordable and not force residents out. Schochet was identified as the likely buyer last year, and Gov. Maura Healey and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus both visited in September to celebrate the state support for this affordable neighborhood.
“After 4 1/2 years of struggle to save our homes, DCTA is thrilled that our selected affordable housing developer, Schochet, has acquired Devenscrest and will be our partner in preserving it as reasonably priced housing,” said the DCTA in a statement announcing the acquisition this week. “We are so grateful to Governor Healey, Secretary Augustus and the EOHLC staff, and the Town of Ayer for everything they have done, and we hope that this may inspire other tenants, including those in Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing, to fight to preserve their homes.”
In a statement, Healey spoke to the larger housing crisis at hand.
“We’ve got to build more homes. This is a great example of what is possible. State funding makes this project work,” said Healey. “As a result of state funding, we were able to save 114 homes for Massachusetts families, and that is a big deal for our community.”
The neighborhood includes 114 housing units across 37 buildings off Littleton Road, and under Schochet’s ownership, 79 of those units will be limited to households earning less than 80% of the area median income, 29 units will be restricted to those under 60% of the AMI, and six units will be for those under 50%.
“For more than 50 years, our mission at Schochet has been to own and manage communities that are not only affordable but offer a quality of life that people are proud to call home,” said Schochet President and CEO Richard Henken. “We are honored to have been selected by DCTA to lead this important preservation effort and are truly grateful to the Governor, the public funders, the myriad of pro-bono lawyers, and our elected officials for their unwavering support to get us to this wonderful result. We are pleased to be able to do our small part to develop solutions to the affordability crisis the Commonwealth faces.”
The MLRI credited local legislators for their support for the neighborhood.
“The preservation of Devenscrest as affordable housing underscores the importance of sustained investment in naturally occurring affordable housing across the Commonwealth,” said MLRI. “MLRI thanks Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Dan Sena for recognizing this need and securing the resources that enabled us, along with Northeast Legal Aid and our other partners, to make sure this community could fight to save their homes and their neighborhood.”
MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay said the agency was “pleased to be part of this effort to ensure long-term affordability for the residents at Devenscrest and keep it as an affordable housing resource in Ayer.”
Original article
Comments