Mason Place

The Harmon Apartments are named after the inspiring Cordelia Harmon, founder of The Boston Home in 1881, which served as a long-term care facility for adults with neurological conditions, primarily multiple sclerosis. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the three-story apartment building provides 30 homes to residents earning no more than 30-60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and six market-rate units. Harmon Apartments is an “accessibility plus” development for adults who live in independent housing and cannot afford a skilled nursing facility.  

This development is designed to meet the needs of individuals coming from environments of isolation and hardship with on-site services catering to active and healthy living, including wellness and social programs, access to neurological specialists, counseling, assistance with wheelchair positioning, and custom accommodations. Automatic doors, roll-in showers, and appliances in units make accessibility a priority. Residents can also adjust heating and cooling systems, lights, and blinds from their phones. About 90 percent of the community relies on supportive services with ages ranging from 15-81. 

Harmon Apartments was a 2020 AHF Readers’ Choice Award Finalist in the Special Needs category. The complex was co-developed by The Boston Home and Affirmative Investments, and NEF invested over $9.2 million in LIHTC equity. 

Formerly an abandoned bowling alley, Energy Square (E2) is a single five-story net-zero-for-living development that provides 57 rental apartments in Kingston, NY. E2 dedicates 29 units to households earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) including seven ESSHI (Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative) units, nine units for special needs, seven for homeless young adults (18-25) and two for homeless persons with rents set at 30 percent AMI. Nine apartments are reserved for households at 90 percent AMI. Preference is given to persons waitlisted for subsidized housing and whose current housing fails to meet basic standards of health and safety.

E2 provides five fully accessible units: three adapted for persons with mobility impairment and two for hearing- or vision-impaired individuals. Support services are offered for financial literacy, employment readiness, and accessing health, mental health, and substance abuse services. The building features first-floor commercial and community service facility space with two elevators and an exterior greenspace. E2 achieved LEED Platinum certification and net zero through geothermal wells, solar, and building design.

This 2020 AHF Readers' Choice Awards Finalist in the Green Category was developed by Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO), and NEF invested $12 million in LIHTC equity.

In 2020, Freedom Village at West Windsor opened in Princeton, New Jersey as a beautiful 72-unit affordable housing community that supports residents with disabilities. This development provides homes for moderate income families and individuals who earn between 50-80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).  

About 45 percent of residents in the community live with developmental and mental health disabilities, and 18 apartments are set aside for individuals in need. Specifically, 10 units are reserved for residents who are currently receiving services for developmental disabilities through their individual providers. Rents for these set-aside units are all paid for by the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities while rent for eight units reserved for mental health consumers receiving agency services are paid for by the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The remaining 54 units are available for individuals and families without disabilities. While showcasing their mission, Project Freedom provides a 100 percent barrier free convenience with accessible wheelchairs and social service providers.  

Freedom Village at Windsor brings together neighborhoods through easy access to transportation, high-quality education and job opportunities in the surrounding areas. The developer worked to meet LEED Silver equivalent efficiency, minimizing water usage while creating healthy and efficient cost-saving buildings and minimal usage of heating and cooling sources.  

With Project Freedom as the developer, NEF invested over $13.2 million in LIHTC equity. 

Completed in Fall 2022, 1064 Mission Street is now San Francisco’s largest permanent supportive housing community. With 256 new affordable homes, residents can experience a service-enriched community in the middle of San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood. Mercy Housing California (MHC) and Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco (ECS) worked together closely on the development of 1064 Mission Street to play a small, but vital part in the battle to end homelessness.

While new, affordable homes were crucial to the development, co-developers and City of San Francisco partners also placed a large focus was placed on providing critical services to enhance the lives of people who have experienced homelessness, an issue that runs rampant in one of the nation’s most expensive cities. The focus on tailored services resulted in the creation of the new Maria X. Martinez Health Resource Center, operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. On-site clinical, case management, and in-home care services are also provided by ECS, St. Anthony Foundation, and Homebridge.

1064 Mission Street is a 2023 AHF Readers’ Choice Finalist in the Urban category.

Full Circle Communities and the Ruth Ellis Center partnered on REC (Ruth Ellis Clairmount) Center, a 43-unit mixed-used permanent supportive housing development in Detroit. REC Center targets youth at risk of homelessness or living with disabilities, as well as LGBTQ+ youth (age 18 to 24) with very low incomes—rents are affordable to those earning at or below 30 percent of the Area Median Income with the help of Project Based Section 8 subsidies. The property is designed to foster communal living and encourage peer support networks and independent living skills. A wellness center offers services largely tailored to serve the LGBTQ+ population.

The REC Center has won several prestigious awards since its construction including 2023 AHF Readers' Choice Award in the Permanent Supportive Housing category, 2023 Charles L. Edson Award Winner in the Housing for Special Populations category, and 2022 CREW Detroit Impact Award in the Special Impact Project category. 

Once a vacant parking lot, Bridge Housing initiated the co-development of the Berkeley Way Apartments and the Hope Center. Both complexes are affordable and supportive housing in Berkeley, California. 

Berkeley Way is an 89-unit studio apartment for low-income families, consisting of one-and two-bedrooms. The community of Berkeley aims to support individuals coming out of homelessness at 15 and 50-60 percent of the area median income (AMI).  

Both developments benefit from the Section 8 subsidy. The city has been granted to improve the transportation system regarding bicycle connection, bus stop upgrades, and zero emissions. Along with convenient access to Berkeley’s BART transit and bus services, residents have plentiful employment opportunities in downtown Berkeley.  

Together, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center is a 2023 AHF Readers’ Choice Finalist in the Urban Category. Sponsored by Bridge Housing, NEF invested $17.8 million in LIHTC equity.  

Once a vacant parking lot, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center unites shelter, food, and services in one affordable and supportive housing complex in Berkeley, California. BRIDGE Housing and Insight Housing (formerly Berkeley Food & Housing Project) worked together to make this inspiring venture a reality. Between the two buildings, there are 89 affordable apartments, 53 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units, 12 transitional housing units for veterans, and 32 emergency shelter beds. The Hope Center has a ground-floor community kitchen with the shelter and veterans housing and PSH units above it.

The community of Berkeley aims to support individuals coming out of homelessness at 15 and 50-60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Both developments benefit from the Section 8 subsidy. The city has been granted to improve the transportation system regarding bicycle connection, bus stop upgrades, and zero emissions. Along with convenient access to Berkeley’s BART transit and bus services, residents have plentiful employment opportunities in downtown Berkeley.

Together, Berkeley Way and The Hope Center is a 2023 AHF Readers’ Choice Finalist in the Urban Category.

HELP Philly 1 and 2 Secured Review

Expected to be completed in the fall of 2025, the Summer Street Apartments will help address Rhode Island’s housing crisis by increasing the number of safe and affordable apartments for formerly homeless adults.  Crossroads Rhode Island is developing Summer Street Apartments, a net-zero-five story apartment building with 176 beautiful and affordable supportive apartments on a vacant lot adjacent to its Providence headquarters.

Summer Street will provide new and improved housing to current residents of Crossroads Rhode Island' Tower apartments, expanding their single-occupancy rooms to fully-furnished, one-bedroom apartments.

Specifically designed to meet the unique needs of this population, Summer Street will include accessibility and usability features for people with a wide range of physical and cognitive abilities, such as visual cues for safety and way finding.

Built exclusively for formerly homeless adults, residents will have access to case management and other support services as needed to help them retain their housing.  Residents of Travelers Aid Housing at 160 Broad Street in Providence, who currently live in dated 9" x 12' SROs with no kitchen and shared bathroom facilities will be Summer Street's first tenants.  

Uptown Flats will be a newly constructed four-story elevator building with 34 units targeted to homeless and/or disabled households. The building will be located just east of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Uptown Neighborhood. The subject has close proximity to Interstates 76 and 79 and is just north of Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The neighborhood is very walkable and has excellent proximity to employment centers and public transportation including Pittsburgh’s new rapid transit line on 5th Ave.

The development will provide 11 Studio apartments with an average of 483 square feet and 16 one-bedroom/one-bath apartments with an average of 638 square feet and 7 2-bedroom/1 bath apartments with an average of 798 square feet.  The unit mix by income limit will be comprised of four units at 20% of AMI, and 30 units 50% AMI. All 34 units will receive project-based vouchers (PBVs) from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh which will have an initial 20-year term. This unit mix was designed based on the needs of households transitioning out of homelessness with children or co-habitants (two-bedroom units), and smaller studio units to help support people with hoarding patterns. Similarly, the design of the overall building includes features intended to support residents who have experienced the trauma of homelessness and/or mental health disabilities. The main feature is the exterior elevated courtyard which will offer private, peaceful, green outdoor space in the middle of a dense urban neighborhood.
The site will include four tuck-under parking garage spaces, which equates to 0.12 spaces per unit. These spaces will be reserved for staff and there will be no on-site parking for the subject’s tenants, which is appropriate considering the walkable location.  The property is occupied by a blighted four-story structure that will be demolished prior to construction. The scope of work includes masonry and fiber cement sliding exterior, varied façade, and flat roof. The units will have entrances from double-loaded interior hallways. All electric utilities will be utilized, and the project will meet ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction standards. The unit amenities will include stove/oven, refrigerator, pantry, a coat closet, blinds, central air conditioning, luxury vinyl tile floors and some units will have walk-in closets. Other amenities will include an on-site management office, bicycle maintenance/storage, laundry facilities, community room, common area wi-fi, café/community kitchen and conference room.