'Lighthouses' Project To Bring Salem 46 Affordable Housing Units

SALEM, MA — A quarter-acre lot on Leavitt Street will be part of "The Lighthouses" affordable housing project planned for the Point neighborhood in Salem.

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development agency, has pledged to contribute $170,000 from its Brownfields Redevelopment Fund to the North Shore Community Development Coalition, Inc. to assess and remediate the lot that is to be the future site of a 25-unit affordable housing facility with community and commercial space.

The Leavitt Street lot is part of "The Lighthouses" project that also includes a Peabody Street lot that will become a 21-unit development and a Palmer Street lot that will be used for parking.

A MassDevelopment spokesperson said of the 46 newly created units, 30 will be rented to households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income and 16 will be set aside for those earning up to 30 percent of the median income.

"The Commonwealth is committed to supporting the remediation of vacant and environmentally challenged sites into vibrant, actively used housing and commercial developments," Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, who serves as chair of MassDevelopment's Board of Directors, said in a statement. "MassDevelopment's Brownfields Redevelopment Fund is vital to advancing these projects and bringing life back to underutilized spaces in cities and towns across Massachusetts."

North Shore CDC is a Salem-based regional community development corporation whose mission is to invest in neighborhoods. In addition to Salem, the organization has made affordable housing investments in Beverly and Gloucester, with additional programs serving people throughout the North Shore region.

"For generations, the Point neighborhood in Salem has been a place where immigrants and individuals of all backgrounds could locate, open businesses, and build a better life for themselves and their families," said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. "Building affordable housing, like North Shore Community Development Coalition's The Lighthouses project, is crucial to ensuring the community remains as dynamic and diverse as it is today. MassDevelopment is proud to be a small part of it."

In 2018, the organization used a $3.4 million tax-exempt bond to buy and renovate the Harbor-Lafayette Homes. In 2016 it used a $12.9 million tax-exempt bond to buy and renovate the Congress Street Residents. In 2014 it used a $9.8 million tax-exempt bond to buy and renovate the Salem Point Apartments. In 2012, it used a $166,513 award from the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund to preserve 77 units of affordable housing, among other projects in the city.

"We are so appreciative of this support from MassDevelopment and the Brownfields Fund, which will allow us not only to address critical remediation issues but allow other project funds to remain focused on important quality of life investments for residents," said North Shore CDC CEO Mickey Northcutt.

Did you find this article useful? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.