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Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Healey-Driscoll administration yesterday announced $15.3 million in Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative awards to support five projects that will transform vacant or underused commercial properties into 856 new rental homes in Boston, Dedham, Springfield, Westford and Worcester.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll made the announcement in Westford, where a former hotel at 219 Littleton Road will be redeveloped into 300 new rental homes, the largest project supported in this round by number of homes.
The other projects in this second round of awards will adaptively reuse historic downtown buildings, convert an office building in Boston’s Financial District, and redevelop obsolete commercial buildings into new housing, Driscoll said.
In addition to creating housing, she said, the projects will preserve historic buildings, support transit-oriented development, and help revitalize downtowns.
“Commercial conversions can solve two challenges at once,” Dirscoll said. “They create homes where people want to live and help communities breathe new life into properties that have been vacant or obsolete.”
Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias noted that commercial conversion projects can be difficult to finance, but the Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative “helps close that gap.”
The Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative, established through the Affordable Homes Act, which Gov. Maura Healey signed in 2024, supports eligible construction and substantial rehabilitation costs for projects that will be primarily residential.
The projects receiving awards in this round are:
• Historic Clark Block Rehabilitation, Worcester, $2.33 million
• 219 Littleton Road, Westford, $3 million
• Main Street Redevelopment, Springfield, $3 million
• Vantage Apartments, Dedham, $3 million
• 294 Washington, Boston, $4 million
Earlier this year, the administration announced nearly $8.4 million to support five projects that will create 339 new homes in Boston, Fitchburg, New Bedford, Pittsfield and Worcester.