Healey visits Worcester's Courthouse Lofts, touts housing construction bill

WORCESTER — Gov. Maura Healey toured Courthouse Lofts on Main Street Wednesday as she touted her $4 billion housing construction bill, saying the bill would fund projects like the mixed-income apartment building.

"You see a beautiful historic building in the heart of a great city now turned into homes for over 100 families. It's fantastic," Healey said. "I think it's important to highlight what's possible when people come together in true partnership to get something like this done."

The Affordable Homes Act was announced Oct. 18 with the Healey-Driscoll administration saying it is a package of spending, policy and programmatic actions that comes out to the largest proposed investment in housing in state history.

The package consists of $4 billion in capital spending authorizations, 28 policy changes or initiatives, three executive orders and two tax credits with the intention of reducing barriers to producing and preserving housing.

Worcester, like much of Massachusetts, is experiencing an affordable housing crisis where demand for housing has outpaced supply.

"We know that there is no greater challenge right now facing our state than housing," Healey said. "We know what's possible and we know how to get there and we think that what's included in this Affordable Homes Act that we recently filed will do great things in terms of getting us here."

The legislation would authorize investment in 18 programs, both existing and new, Healey said.

Courthouse Lofts is an 118-unit mixed-unit building that was once the Worcester County Courthouse.

The $53 million mixed-income housing project includes premium studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The revitalization was designed to integrate historic details and modern amenities. It was a part of efforts to revive the city’s Lincoln Square district. The revitalization was handled by Boston developer Trinity Financial

It opened to tenants in January 2021.

Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward M. Augustus Jr., the former Worcester city manager, described the need to revitalize the former courthouse during his tenure as city manager in order to carry the energy from downtown development further out.

"It was really an eyesore. It was a challenge for the city," Augustus said.

The Affordable Homes Act would fund resources used for the Courthouse Lofts project as well as for new programs like a momentum fund where state resources would be leveraged to support large-scale, mixed-income development in situations where high interest rates and building material costs could delay projects, Augustus said.

Patrick Lee, a principal at Trinity Financial, said the interest rate when the construction loan for the courthouse revitalization project was paid off was 1.8% and now the expected rate to finance another transaction in Worcester is nearly 8%.

Funding to public housing would also ensure that the units are clean and accessible and would also be used to decarbonize the units.

One of the suggested policies is allowing the construction of accessory dwelling units, known as in-law suites, by-right. A recommendation to allow accessory dwelling units in all zoning districts except the manufacturing and airport districts is making its way through city government but has faced some questions from city councilors about its impact to the character of neighborhoods.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Maura Healey visits Worcester's Courthouse Lofts, touts housing bill