Construction on an affordable housing community in Springfield, Massachusetts is nearing completion – marking the end of a long-vacant lot and start of a new neighborhood.
Just over 20 years ago, firefighters worked to put out a blaze at the old Gemini factory in the city’s South End. The textile mill had been abandoned for some time before the 2003 fire, and in the years that followed, what would happen to the almost 100,000-square foot lot off Morris and Central streets was up in the air. The 2011 tornado didn’t help matters, either.
But, over the last year, frames have been going up, and in September, a ribbon-cutting was held to mark the lot’s new occupants – the Gemini Townhouses project.
Work on the 40 condominiums is expected to wrap up early next year. Made up of two- and three-bedroom units, they’re intended for first-time home buyers with an income “up to 80% or 100% of the Area Median Income,” according to the project’s website.
Recounting how developer Home City Development had been looking for a site for their project since he was a city councilor, Springfield Senator Adam Gomez invoked mythology.
“Out of the ashes comes the phoenix,” the Democrat said. “The Gemini project - I happen to be a Gemini so I love the name of it - the Gemini project is that phoenix, and it's that belief in not only affordable housing, not only in workforce housing and individuals that want to rent, but individuals that want the own. Everybody has a dream of wanting to own their piece of property, right? This is the beginning of that.”
Thomas Kegelman, executive director of Home City Development, says, comparatively speaking, the work has come a long way in a short amount of time as far as housing projects go. Approvals and construction have been taking place over the last three years, at least.
Some of the hurdles included spending $2 million on cleaning up what had been left in the ground by the previous occupants. That included old foundations, sewage and drainage structures and more.
But with the rows of townhouses nearly done and info sessions being held, he says the $23 million project is on track to finish construction by January or February, and will have a lot to offer the incoming occupants.
“There's a sense of security and of community that I think provides people who are coming into a predominantly rental neighborhood - a sense of security and a sense of community of a neighborhood,” Kegelman told WAMC. “I mean, you're basically creating a neighborhood right out of nothing.”
Funding for the project includes at least $12.6 million from MassHousing, as well as around $2 million from the city. That includes ARPA funds, according to Sarno.
The project also comes at a time both city and state officials look to build the area out of a housing crisis. Calling attention to that during the ceremony was Housing Secretary Ed Augustus.
“We need ownership, we need rental, we need market rate, we need workforce - we need to improve the quality and the health of our public housing,” Augustus said. “We need to work across the board and across the spectrum, and the Healy-Driscoll administration stands ready to continue to partner with the great City of Springfield.”
A number of units have already been allotted via lottery earlier in the year, with a second drawing planned. Any remaining units are to be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to the city.
Kegelman says outreach and preparing first-time homeowners is its own component of the project.
According to Home City, two-bedroom units are fetching between $170,000 and $206,000, while three-bedrooms range from $189,000 to $227,000 - all offering amenities he says most any new homebuyer would be seeking.
“In all of my work that I've done in the last 40 years, working in affordable housing, whether it's been rental and, now, the home ownership, I've always said, I want to provide a product that people who have choices, who aren't forced because this is the only thing they can afford, but people who could afford something more expensive would want to live in,” he explained. “… in a place where I would want to live, in a place that felt comfortable, and that I would be happy and proud to live in it.”
