Alyce Corner: Affordable Housing Development Competition Submission

Alyce Corner BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS 2020 AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF BOSTON

FINAL REPORT PROJECT PROPOSAL

Project Title

WHO WE ARE

Acknowledgments Our team would like to thank every stakeholder we spoke with as part of our community engagement process.

Additionally, we would like to thank the following people:

NeighborWorks Housing Solutions

Collaborators

Course Instructors

Tim Doherty

Rob May, City of Brockton

Ann Borst, Wentworth

Noelle Humphries

Bill Brauner, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation

Edward Marchant, Harvard Peter Roth, MIT

Competition Coordinators

Michael Wolfson, Meander Studio

Tobi Goldberg, FHLB Boston Kathy McGilvray, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation

Carol Marine, CHAPA Mario Goetz, MIT DUSP

Allison Savage, Utile

Diana Guo, Harvard GSD Carl Hedman, MIT DUSP

MEET

Our Team

Drew Britton Masters in Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology

Devin Kelly Masters in City Planning MIT DUSP

Ben Demers Masters in Urban Planning and Public Policy

Ruthy Gourevitch Masters in City Planning

Astrid Mayak Masters in Architecture II and Urban Planning

Nick Pittman Masters in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning

MIT DUSP

Margaret Haltom Masters in Urban Planning Harvard GSD

Harvard University

Harvard GSD

Richard Hill Master of International Business

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Dreux Santos-Quesnel Masters in Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology

Robin Wyckoff Masters in Architecture Wentworth Institute of Technology

Tufts University

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Chapter Title |

OUR SPONSOR

NeighborWorks Housing Solutions Tim Doherty

Noelle Humphries

NeighborWorks Housing Solutions (NHS) develops, rehabilitates, and provides resources on affordable housing in Southeastern Massachusetts. NHS owns and operates around 170 units—with around 90 other units currently in development—and offers a range of homeownership and critical housing security programs to

Brockton residents. Established as NeighborWorks Housing Solutions in 2019, NHS merged Housing Solutions for Southeastern Massachusetts and NeighborWorks Southern Massachusetts, two organizations that have been actively developing affordable housing in the area since the 1980s.

TABLE OF P.4

Executive Summary Section One

P.9

Contents

Community Context Section Two

P.16

Engagement Section Three

P.18

Design Section Four

P.34

Finance Section Five

P.44

Implementation Section Six

P.46

End Matter Section Seven

Project Proposal

P. 3

Alyce Corner

Executive Summary

94 units

42 studios 34 1br 11 2br 7 3br

$339,255 TDC per unit

61,200 gsf residential

16,802 gsf commercial

11,942 gsf green space

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As we walked along Main Street in Downtown Brockton for the first time, we were struck by the tangible sense of the past: the once-department stores turned empty storefronts, the towering ghosts of mid-20th century manufacturing. We also took in what the area has become today. We observed the comings-and-goings of the district courthouse next to our site and busy health service organizations and local businesses scattered throughout.

Our site sits at the heart of this changing downtown core, a former manufacturing center that has since morphed into a social service hub.

City revitalization plans for Brockton envision an 18-hour, mixed -use downtown that incorporates transitoriented development, a thriving consumer economy, and smart growth principles. The City has layered economic development incentives to decrease barriers to realizing these revitalization goals. Early signs of this strategy’s success are taking shape, with new development projects, and a makerspace pilot popping up around downtown. And NeighborWorks Housing Solutions, our developer partner, has already assumed a pivotal role in turning this vision into a reality, working to develop mixed-use buildings fitted for residents’ needs.

At the same time, Brockton has a long history as a welcoming place for lower-income and immigrant residents. The city has served as a “gateway” to economic mobility for generations. Today, Brockton’s strong social service industry and employment options provide people from across Plymouth County with opportunities they cannot find elsewhere.

The drive for revitalization, coupled with the city’s strong image as a welcoming place, left our team with the question: How can we help foster an equitable revitalization process in Brockton, holding onto the inclusive, welcoming community that has made the city resilient across generations, while also catalyzing economic growth?

Our project set out to tackle this question. The result is Alyce Corner: a 94-unit, 100% affordable housing complex colocated with a novel, small business and artisan incubator space in the heart of downtown. Affordable apartments for low-income and workforce residents will allow people to live in a transit-rich downtown core.

On the ground floor, the Expo @ Alyce Corner, an innovative incubator for the arts and local small businesses, will be managed by the Brockton Networking Expo non-profit. The Expo helps startups locate in downtown Brockton at an affordable price, with the hope of accessing services that will someday allow them to move into their own ground-floor storefronts in downtown Brockton. In addition to its role in fostering inclusive economic development in Brockton, the Expo will allow for a holistic live-work opportunity for emergent entrepreneurs and artists in our building.

Alyce Corner createsW community cohesion, delivers affordable housing, anchors local economic development efforts and helps build the population base needed to support the city’s vision for a vibrant downtown. In doing so, our project serves as a model for inclusive revitalization in Gateway Cities.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Judging Criteria Our proposal weaves together community-informed design and realistic financing to create a diverse, sustainable, mixed-income development in the heart of Brockton.

Community Responsiveness

Financing

Design

We spoke to 20 stakeholders before the COVID pandemic hit, developing a plan for an inclusive community engagement strategy accounting for the uncertainties around social distancing and public health.

Our diverse subsidy sources ensure long-term affordability for 94 units of housing for both current and future Brockton residents, from extremely-low income and formerly homeless individuals to workforce households priced out of the Boston Metro area.

Expansive and well-appointed common areas encourage residents to socialize and build community among a diverse group of residents.

Our design reflects our community engagement findings: Brockton has established itself as a welcoming regional center for people looking for both support and employment opportunities.

We align with Brockton’s “7 Layer Dip” financing incentives to create a vibrant mixed-use building that will help the city revitalize downtown.

Environmental Sustainability We incorporate sustainable materials and solar panels into our design, reduce impervious surfaces, and provide private and public green spaces for residents and visitors.

Our project epitomizes environmentally friendly transitoriented development, located in a transit-rich downtown core a short walk from the commuter rail and bus stations.

Project Proposal

Our unit mix focuses on smaller households: a blend of workers relying on the transit and service-rich location of Brockton for commuting and services; entrepreneurs and creatives who will benefit from a dynamic live-work environment downtown; and formerly homeless individuals looking for stability and community.

Feasibility

Innovation

Our project builds on NeighborWorks’ relationships in the community and works within pre-existing frameworks that Brockton has created to promote development goals.

Our development provides tailored resident programming that fits the needs of our diverse resident population, serving as a model for other small-units mixed-income housing developments.

Alyce Corner responds to the needs articulated by the Brockton Networking Expo to bring space for start-ups and meetings for community organizations to the downtown core.

Our project reflects the challenges of affordable housing development amidst a global pandemic while planning for a more resilient future through the use of sustainable design, longterm affordable financing, and features promoting resilience.

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Alyce Corner

MISSION

Our Project Goals Our mission is to provide affordable, high-quality housing to a diverse range of Brockton residents in need of housing downtown, from extremely-low income individuals to workers commuting to Boston. It is our hope that the prime location of this development will ensure that residents can live in a revitalizing downtown core with easy access to employment opportunities and services, without having to stretch their budgets.

In realizing this mission, our project strives to: Capitalize on the opportunity for transit-oriented development that unites Brockton with other employment hubs, allowing residents to live and work along a single transit corridor Align with city goals for downtown core revitalization through the activation of new public nodes on Main Street, including a public parklet and a new dedicated meeting/training center, where local organizations and city employees can help residents looking to develop business and employment-related skills

Build upon Brockton’s status as a Gateway city to ensure that Brockton remains a place for everyone to access opportunity as the city’s plans for revitalization take hold and housing prices subsequently rise Create a home that embodies a holistic sense of resilience, so that low-income working Brocktonians can find stability amidst uncertainties, whether it be climate change, rental market changes, or pandemics

Reflecting on Brockton’s Past

1890

After the sale of land from the Massasoit people to Myles Standish, Brockton is established as a settler colony.

In its first recorded census, 1 in 5 Brockton residents were foreign-born

1919

Brockton’s peak as a shoe-manufacturing industry, which provided employment to 13,000 workers

1951

Alyce Merian opens clothing business on our site, in what was then a thriving downtown Brockton

1964-2004

Decline in the shoe manufacturing industry and downtown businesses decreases employment opportunities in Brockton through the latter half of the 20th Century.

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Executive Summary |

STORY

The Legacy of Alyce Merian Our development is named after Alyce Merian, the daughter of Armernian immigrants who opened a small dress-making shop on our site in 1951, in what was then a thriving downtown Brockton. Alyce expanded her business over several decades into one of the biggest of its kind in the region, embodying the vision of the American Dream.

Throughout it all, her commitment to downtown Brockton was unwavering. As written in her obituary, ”While many downtown businesses were abandoning the city’s center, Merian was determined to help rebuild Brockton’s Main Street.” Alyce died in 2018; her sons, John and Paul, continue to run the business today.

Alyce’s story captures so much of what we learned about Brockton through this project – its economic opportunity potential for immigrants, the role of our site as an anchor in downtown, and the collective motivation to rebuild Main Street into the vibrant place it once was.

Alyce Corner pays homage to Alyce Merian and the site’s lively past while planning for its future. In addition to sitting at the physical corner of Elm Street and Main Street, the site sits at a symbolic crossroads, acting as an anchor of housing stability amidst a revitalizing downtown core.

Envisioning Brockton’s Future

2009

The Great Recession impacts Brockton particularly hard, leading to a record number of foreclosures.

2015

With the city’s release of plans for downtown revitalization and the increasing number of small businesses, signs of economic growth come to the downtown core

Project Proposal

2020

COVID-19 creates unexpected turmoil, as thousands of Brockton residents lose their income and fear Recession-level impacts and homeless struggle to find shelter. Many residents facing eviction or foreclosure turn to NeighborWorks for RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition) support.

2025

Alyce Corner opens, activating the Main Street of downtown, providing housing stability and job development support to residents, and increasing the population base living downtown [image: rendering]

P. 7

Alyce Corner

COVID-19 EFFECTS The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis posed significant challenges to our work, threatening our team’s momentum in the middle of our project. We had to stop our in-person community engagement before having the chance to speak with many Brockton residents, which left us concerned that our project wouldn’t fully reflect the needs of those we seek to serve. It also had personal implications: many of us had to move home, and for some of us, worries about family members’ health or livelihoods overtook our ability to prioritize the competition.

In parallel, our team had to confront what this crisis meant for affordable housing development at large. Above all else, the COVID crisis highlights that housing is healthcare: a safe, affordable home is critical to improving a person’s health and well-being. As the number of housing insecure individuals increased as a result of the pandemic, we were faced with even more motivation to ensure our development met the needs of vulnerable residents. And as we witnessed construction halt and the economy crash throughout Massachusetts, we renewed our commitment to building a resilient hub for affordable housing that contributed to Brockton’s economic revitalization efforts.

COVID expanded our team’s understanding of how to build “resilient” affordable housing. As we followed Massacusetts’ response through weekly CHAPA calls, we developed our own ideas for how to alter our project to better meet the needs of today and the uncertainty of tomorrow. For example, we increased the number of units for those experiencing homelessness, recognizing the utmost importance of shelter as a public health strategy. We also incorporated financing for universal WiFi in our building so residents access their work and social networks from their own homes. While the final product does not reflect the level of community engagement or collaborative design we set out to accomplish, it is our hope that this project illustrates the importance of flexible design, resilient planning, and equitable development.

We do not know what the next chapter will bring, but we do know that now, more than ever, people are in need of high-quality affordable housing.

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

COMMUNITY CONTEXT

02

Living in Brockton Today

Race/Ethnicity Breakdown of Brockton Residents Hispanic/ Latino 12%

Other race 9% Asian 2%

White 35% Black 42%

Brockton is located twenty-five miles south of Boston and forty miles northeast of Providence, and is an approximately thirty-five minute ride from the Brockton commuter-rail station into South Station. Home to just over 95,000 residents, Brockton is the largest city in Plymouth County and seventh largest in Massachusetts.

A Diverse City

Average rent and home prices between Boston and Brockton

$1,445

$658,275

$1,356 $1,054

$462,000 $290,000

Boston

Greater Boston Area (147 municipalities)

Brockton

Average building age in:

Plymouth County: 1969 Brockton: 1956 Downtown Brockton: 1947

Project Proposal

Brockton is significantly more racially and ethnically diverse than the neighboring area, and about one-third of residents are foreign-born. The city is home to increasingly large Cape Verdean and Haitian populations.

The Cape Verdean population has doubled since 2000, making it one of the largest such communities outside of Cape Verde. The Cape Verdean population predominantly lives in central Brockton, where our site is also located.

Income and Employment Brockton’s industry and economic growth have slowed in recent decades, leading to its classification as one of 11 Gateway Cities–so named since they have historically served as passageways to prosperity for lower income and immigrant residents, which the state hopes to revitalize.

Today, approximately one in four of Brockton residents work in the healthcare industry, and 13 percent work in retail. The median household income in the city ($55,140) is significantly lower than the state’s average ($77,378). Within Brockton,

income disparities by race show that Black and Latino households tend to earn less than white households.

Research has found that residents of color in Brockton face barriers to accessing capital, making it difficult to start their own businesses.

An Anchor of Regional Affordability...

The 2019 Greater Boston Housing Report Card named Brockton the most affordable city within the Greater Boston area, with renters paying 22% less ($1,054 per month compared with the area average of $1,356 per month). Furthermore, in Brockton, black families have more mortgage loans than in any other gateway city, suggesting greater opportunity for black homeownership in the city compared to surrounding areas. A disproportionate number of Black residents remain renters, while a disproportionate number of white residents own homes.

...Concerned With Rising Rents Brockton remains a much more affordable place to rent than Boston, but recent news highlights local evictions, rising rents, and housing insecurity for lower income residents.

Since 2011, rent for a 2-bedroom in Brockton has risen from approximately $1,000 to $1,600. Through our engagement, we learned that perceptions of increasing rental prices have left some service providers worried as Brockton “revitalizes,” lower-income residents will be pushed out.

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Alyce Corner

COMMUNITY CONTEXT

A Transit-Rich City and Walkable Downtown The abundance of public transportation options in downtown Brockton lends itself to transit-oriented residential developmentOur site is about five minutes from the Brockton commuter rail station. The trip to South Station takes 35 minutes. .

Commuting daily to Boston by train is expensive, however: monthly passes cost nearly $300. A less expensive option for commuters to Boston is the express Brockton Area Transit Authority bus to Ashmont Station, which costs only $2.10 each way and takes 45-75 minutes, depending on the route and time of day.

Local and Regional Public Transit.The

Brockton Area Transit Authority Center

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Main Street, Brockton

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Community Context | in close proximity to a new Vicente’s grocery store, a cafe, shops, and a public library.

Heart of Downtown The future site of Alyce Corner unfolds over four parcels in the heart of downtown Brockton, a disinvested area that has been targeted by extensive economic revitalization efforts in recent years. The project site is located on Main Street, one of Brockton’s major arterials. It is within a quarter-mile of Brockton City Hall and the district courthouse, and

It is also within a half-mile of the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center.

Other nearby facilities provide housing and shelter for people who have experienced homelessness, including Father Bill’s Mainspring, an emergency shelter, and the Elmcourt Hotel.

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Vincete’s Supermarket

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Centre Street

Career Works

Sycamore Site Main Stre et

Frederick Douglass Academy

City Hall

Cardoso Cafe

Luminosity

Site Elm Street

Eldon B Keith Memorial Field

Boys and Girls Club

Main Stre et

District Court

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Brockton Council on the Aging

Project Proposal

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Alyce Corner

Our Site Today Service Provider At 151 Main Street sits Luminosity, a mental health and substance abuse counseling center that serves roughly 1,200 clients in Brockton.

The nonprofit bought the land and building in 2018 for $1 million, but is open to relocating to another space in downtown to make space for our development. To ease this transition we have budgeted $1.5 million to acquire the parcel from Luminosity.

Summer Pop-Up The empty lot next to Luminosity served in Summer 2019 as a pop-up beer garden, food truck and performance space.

Newspapers touted the city-sponsored event, PROVA, as a success that helped show Brockton’s potential as a future dining and entertainment destination.

Linda Teixeira-Reyes, a Luminosity staff member and mental health advocate, sees diversity in Brockton as people of very different backgrounds sharing the same space and learning from one another. She expressed a need for effective common spaces to promote daily interaction and “bridge the gap between love and fear.”

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Community Context |

Historic Building Known as the Cross Building, this state historic building at 141 Main Street was built in 1915 in the classical revival style. Its past uses have included an apartment house, business offices, a department store and a barbershop. Today it is shuttered and empty.

Family-Run Business At 137 Main Street, tuxedos adorn mannequins standing in the display windows of the Merian Brothers clothing shop. A state historic structure and a former Kresge’s department store, the building today is the current home of the franchise started by Alyce Merian in 1951. Her sons, John and Paul, are now open to selling the building.

Over a two-hour visit, John Merian told us stories of his family, the business and the feeling of Christmas in the vibrant Brockton downtown of the mid-20th century. He hopes the new development will be interactive and create a sense of place.

“Feelings of yesteryear, hopes about tomorrow.”

Project Proposal

P. 13

Alyce Corner

PLANNING CONTEXT

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The city of Brockton has developed an ambitious planning, zoning and incentive program to achieve its economic development goals. Alyce Corner aligns with key elements of recent plans, which include increasing density while mixing residential and commercial uses.

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The City has layered seven federal, state, and local economic and zoning incentives to encourage downtown development, known locally as the “7 Layer Dip� (shown below).

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City of Brockton Downtown Brockton Smart Growth Overlay District Amendment (2014)

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Calls for mixed-use, transit-oriented developments in town centers with at least 20% affordability in housing projects. The Downtown Core subdistrict, which expanded in 2016 to include the future site of Alyce Corner, emphasizes a mix of uses and increased density.

Downtown Brockton Urban Revitalization Plan (URP), 2016 Identifies Downtown Brockton as a distressed neighborhood prime for targeted redevelopment. Identifies numerous properties as future housing and commercial uses, including a restaurant incubator and a pharmacy.

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City of Brockton

Brockton 21st Century Corporation

Brockton Downtown A Action k D i Strategy, 2015

Brockton Housing Strategy Plan, 2019

Calls for increasing downtown residential density to support economic revitalization. Promotes helping new small-business entrepreneurs locate downtown.

Encourages city efforts to facilitate housing development for low and middle-income individuals and families in downtown Brockton.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Community Context |

Our Future Neighbor, Sycamore on Main NeighborWorks, our developer partner, is actively developing the site directly north of Alyce Corner as a 48-unit, 100% affordable, mixed-income rental project called Sycamore on Main.

We anticipate strong synergy between these neighboring projects, enlivening a downtown block and building up a much-desired population base to support a range of local businesses.

Project Proposal

P. 15

Alyce Corner

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

03

Understanding Local Needs

Guiding Principles

COVID-19 Collides with Engagement COVID-19 Collides with Engagement

We wanted to shape our development on the input of not only officials and community leaders, but also of the people who currently visit or live in downtown spaces, including people who are living on the streets or are housing insecure. After our first round of speaking with non-profit, business, and civic stakeholders, we planned an “interception”-style engagement at a number of key spots -- the grocery store, the train station, the library and the sidewalk in front of the development site. We wanted to capture Brockton’s diversity of voices and characters, including people that may have more trouble attending a regular public meeting.

February 14

Team formation: five planners prepare for robust engagement process

March 6

From the outset, we hoped to run a robust community engagement effort that crossed social, economic and institutional boundaries to ensure our project met the true needs of its future residents.

After speaking with key institutional figures, our team planned to conduct interception-based engagement to capture a wide range of perspectives from residents who regularly traverse Brockton’s downtown corridor. We hoped to gather as many perspectives as possible from people who may be less likely, able, or motivated to attend organized meetings. Unfortunately, we were unable to execute this plan for intercept engagement because of COVID 19. We feel this limitation significantly impacted our ability to connect the design to wide-ranging community input.

February 19

Team conducts interviews along FundMain Street, talking to staff at raise Luminosity, a behavioral health center, and John Merian, whose family runs a tuxedo business.

March 7-11

Feb 23- March 5

Engagement team sends dozens of email requests and conducts phone interviews.

Team prepares for a two-day, intercept-based engagement the weekend of March 14 to gather as many perspectives as possible.

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February 20

PartnerTwo team members visit the site,

Notification of Brockton site assignment, team prepares future visits.

March 11

absorbed neighborhood scene, conducted initial interviews with property managers and a few other stakeholders.

February 22

Five of the other eight team members toured the site with developer partner and city planning director Rob May.

Received email from organizers asking us to forgo in-person engagement due to COVID-19.

March 12-April 2

Conduct phone interviews, synthesize input from 20 interviews.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Here’s what we heard: A desire for mixed-income housing, without ignoring the most vulnerable : City plans and interviews indicate a demand for low- and moderateincome housing as well as housing tailored to workers who commute given the transit-rich location of our site and the abundance of lowerwage employment options nearby.

Service providers also emphasized the need for people who experience homelessness to be integrated into the downtown community through stable housing options.

Artistic expression, creativity and places to gather and perform. A new MakerSpace launched recently downtown, hosting a variety of classes on topics that include bookkeeping for side jobs, teen painting and natural remedies. On the physical surfaces of downtown, mural art abounds.. One partly-finished mural, on the northfacing wall of the current site, would be relocated on-site for Alyce Corner.

Desire to maintain the historic feel of Main Street - The brick buildings and relatively preserved facades give visitors an easy window into the past. “I love the old buildings,” one interviewee said. We were challenged with reconciling demand for density and affordable housing with maintaining Main Street’s historic character.

Demand for (but financial difficulty of creating) restaurants. We heard again and again of the desire for more sit-down restaurants in the downtown core. At the same time, reports, city stakeholders and development professionals described downtown Brockton as an “unproven market.” We also heard interest in the incubator model, which provides low-cost space for local entrepreneurs and startups to develop products and concepts.

Greater Brockton Residents Brockton Arts

FUTURE ENGAGEMENT ATER COVID-19

Brockton Department of City Planning

Brockton City Council Cape Verdean Association of Brockton

Local Financial Institutions

NeighborWorks Brockton MakerSpace

OTHER STAKEHOLDERS WE ENGAGED

Downtown Business Owners

Neighboring property owners

Service Workers

Faith Leaders

Father Bill’s MainSpring

Merian Family

MassDevelopment Small Business Organizations

Elvira’s Cafe

Affordable Housing Advocates

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center

Transit Users

Project Proposal

Downtown Residents

ON SITE NOW

Brockton Networking Expo

Luminosity Inc.

Brockton Transit Authority

P. 17

Alyce Corner

DESIGN

04

Welcome to Alyce Corner

Alyce Corner weaves together a novel concept for small business development and 100% aordable housing to create a new anchor for inclusive revitalization in the heart of Brockton.

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

With this, we believe that Alyce Corner will be:

Through thoughtful design and programming, Alyce Corner fosters a new community for low-income and workforce individuals who rely on the transit-rich downtown location to access employment and are enticed by the live-work space and entrepreneurial support opportunities provided by our first-floor business incubator.

A conveniently located home for lower-income and workforce commuters who rely on public transit to commute but would be costburdened living in other areas of the Boston region An organic live-work opportunity for entrepreneurs, artists, and small business owners, who can take advantage of the Expo incubator on the ground floor and create support networks with neighbors

We wanted to create a building that activates Main Street and provides an anchor for economic development downtown, while fostering an inclusive, communityoriented atmosphere inside for people from diverse backgrounds looking for housing stability and upward economic mobility.

1 2

61,200 gsf residential

16,802 gsf commercial

A stable home for the formerly homeless, where individuals can integrate with the larger residential community while remaining near essential supportive services

Apartments on doubleloaded corridor

3

Residential common spaces

4

The Expo business incubator

5

Public courtyard (Lumin Court)

6

11,942 gsf green space

Solar panels 7 Parking

Sycamore on Main (under construction)

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Project Proposal

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Alyce Corner

Residential Program Units that Support Resident Needs Our unit mix reflects the needs of our residents lower-income individuals: taking advantage of the service-rich downtown environment, commuters to Boston and nearby communities needing transit and job accessibility, and small business owners excited for the live-work environment offered by the Expo.

We primarily offer smaller units--42 studios and 34 one-bedrooms-to complement fast-paced lifestyles of the majority of our residents and one- to two-person households. Corner one-bedroom units capitalize on larger bedroom space for workforce housing, while six studios allocated for formerly homeless residents carve out space for more vulnerable residents to achieve housing stability. Striving for a more inclusive, supportive environment, we offer a selection of ADA accessible units: eleven studios and one one-bedroom have

60-inch diameter turning spaces for wheelchairs.

A range of bigger apartments accommodate residents with larger households. Eleven two-bedroom and seven three-bedroom units offer larger counters and pantry spaces for residents with families or roommates.

Each of the 94-units has access to multiple common spaces across all four floors. With a range of programs from art therapy to exercise, all offered to accommodate after-work schedules and promote community, Alyce Corner will be a vibrant, supportive community, with residents who know their neighbors on all floors.

Each unit has tall windows, creating well-lit, open spaces, with plenty of natural light for the bedroom and living area. Ample closet spaces allow room for couples’ wardrobes, while generous kitchen counters are ideal for quick meal prep. Residents also enjoy space for a small dining table and living area.

How COVID-19 Impacted Design Conversations with Father Bill’s & MainSpring, a Brockton homeless service provider, in the days following the COVID-19 outbreak reinforced our team’s understanding of the importance of stable housing for the health of Brockton’s lower-income residents. Our team committed to ensuring that extremely low-income residents had a place at Alyce Corner. We hope that the mixed income residences, combined with our resilient design features (including free building WiFi and environmentally sensitive design), will ensure that housing insecure residents can find stable housing at Alyce Corner to weather future uncertainty.

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94 units

42 studios 34 1br 11 2br 7 3br

6 units formerly homeless (30% AMI)

15 units extremely low income (30% AMI)

29 units low income (60% AMI)

44 units workforce (80% AMI)

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Studio Rent range $890 to $1,170

One Bedroom Rent range $942 to $1,243

Area: 480 sqf

Area: 595 sqf

Two Bedroom Rent range $1,128 to $1,489

Three Bedroom Rent range $1,292 to $1,709

Area: 855 sqf

Area: 1145 sqf

Project Proposal

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Alyce Corner

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Fourth Floor Plan

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Project Proposal

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P. 23

Alyce Corner

CONTEXT-BASED DESIGN

Cultivating Community Through Place Our design fosters a strong sense of place that translates to a supportive community.

5rth Floor

The Commune | bookshelves, board games, and round tables bring residents together from across the building. This is the core gathering spot for building wide meetings and events, with great views of Brockton. A library room on the northern side provides a space for residents to exchange books and read in a peaceful setting beyond their unit.

In addition, on the western side of each floor smaller rooms are devoted to work-from-home spaces, where residents can focus away from their household unit and take advantage of building-wide WiFi. Recognizing that some residents won’t be able to afford their own computers but still need to be connected, we have also created a computer room with a printer for communal use on floor 4.

4th Floor

Exercise and Wellness Space | modular furniture allows this space to easily accommodate yoga and aerobics classes for people of all ages. Early morning and evening classes help our busy residents find ways to fit exercise into their schedules. The Wellness room on the northern side of the building provides a more private space for self-directed fitness.

Through a partnership with Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS), our project will also provide on-site, individualized wrap-around services to our ELI residents.

3rd Floor

Outdoor Garden Patio | a quiet escape from downtown living, the outdoor patio provides residents with a warm-weather place to come together or find solitude. Garden beds provide residents with space of their own to grow herbs and flowers during the summer months.

2nd Floor

At Alyce Corner, residents across income levels can come together for formal and informal programming in communal spaces. Our community spaces directly serve the needs of residents -- working professionals and those seeking programming oriented toward stability.

Art Commons | long workshop tables, adult coloring books, and a display wall for residents’ art provide a space for artistic expression. Weekly art therapy sessions take place in the small room adjacent to the art commons, and Expo artists host monthly workshops in this space for residents.

Inspired by other successful scattered site permanent supportive housing models supported by FBMS, we believe that setting aside a small number of units for people experiencing homelessness at Alyce Corner and complimenting this with wrap-around services/programming will help provide a path toward housing stability and allow them to integrate into a diverse residential community.

* Ground Floor commercial space not shown here.

| P. 24

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Residents relax, play and garden in the third-floor roof patio.

Residents workout in the wellness room on the Western side of floor 4.

Project Proposal

P. 25

Alyce Corner

RESIDENTIAL LIFE

A Day in the Life at Alyce Corner Olivia and Kevin Olivia and Kevin moved to Alyce’s Corner for this affordable one-bed in the heart of Downtown. After living in Bridgewater, they wanted a home with a “downtown feel.” Olivia takes the BAT bus to her job as a salesperson at IKEA, where she makes $27,000 a year, and Kevin walks to his part-time work in a local restaurant. Dreaming of starting his own restaurant business one day, Kevin is also enrolled in Brockton Networking Expo’s small business technical assistance program. The live-and-work environment accommodates their needs today, while offering programs to support their visions of tomorrow.

Annie By day, Annie commutes on the commuter rail from Downtown Brockton to Boston to work as a substitute teacher. And by night, they enjoy how easy it is to run errands and find what they need within walking distance of Alyce Corner. They make around $30,000 a year, and enjoy this studio apartment’s generous kitchen, natural light and views of the courtyard below. Before the move to Brockton, Annie lived in Boston, where they struggled to afford high rents and occasionally crashed on friends’ couches for a month. At Alyce Place, Annie is enjoying stable, affordable housing within a reasonable distance of work.

| P. 26

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Jasmine and Corey Jasmine and Corey moved to this three-bedroom with their two children for proximity to Arnone Elementary, just blocks away, and access to the arts and small business makerspace on the ground floor. Having both immigrated to Brockton from Cape Verde as children, they dream of expanding their mural making work, which celebrates Cape Verdean culture, across Brockton. They can walk their kids to school in the morning and pick them up from the nearby Boys and Girls club in the afternoons. Jasmine’s mother, Sheryl, was able to rent one of the ADA units on site, and having three generations under one roof makes life easier for everyone.

Fifth oor social area, where residents gather for games and socializing

Project Proposal

P. 27

Alyce Corner

GROUND FLOOR ACTIVATION

Introducing “The Expo” at Alyce Corner

On the ground floor of Alyce Corner, 17,000 square feet of commercial space will be converted into a bustling hub for local entrepreneurship and arts.

This is the Expo, a center for nurturing local talent and business enterprise as part of the city’s broader push to meet desires for downtown activities and eateries.

| P. 28

In a market that has had trouble attracting outside investment, we see the Expo as a critical step toward developing Brockton businesses.

The Brockton Networking Expo (BNE), a nonprofit in Brockton that is dedicated to building a collective of local artists and entrepreneurs, will be the master tenant and site manager for this space.

When opening her own small business, BNE Founder Dina Remaris said, “It was hard to connect with people if you’re not out there like that, and there’s not much opportunity [for networking].” The Expo fills this gap.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

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Project Proposal

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P. 29

Alyce Corner

A Growing Incubator Culture We drew inspiration for the Expo from other incubators in the Boston region.

Norwood Space Center, Norwood, MA

Community of small business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, creatives, performers and collectors. As written on their website, “Businesses who reside at the NSC have the ability to brainstorm, work in unconventional space and socialize with individuals from many different industries.�

Aeronaut Brewing Co., Somerville, MA

12,000-square foot complex that includes a brewery, taproom and food hub, as well as adjacent MakerSpace.

Events and music space can be reserved for private gatherings.

Bow Market, Somerville, MA

Food-hall style development that hosts 30+ food, art and retail shops around a public courtyard. Includes a comedy studio, a music apparel, equipment and production company, a small design firm and Nibble Kitchen, an incubator for local immigrant chefs.

In the Expo, we imagine a space with cubicles and stalls for Brockton creatives and entrepreneurs to work, test concepts and develop products.

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Lumin Court

Lumin Court hosts outdoor summer events like PROVA!, the multicultural arts and performance venue that has made use of empty space on this block of Main Street since 2018.

Lumin Court also allows residences on the inner wing of the double loaded corridors above access to natural light.

Glass sliding doors in the ground floor Expo area will provide “eyes on the street” and easy connectivity between the Expo and Lumin Court activities.

Project Proposal

To pay homage to the history of Brockton and our site, we include commemorative plaques throughout Luminary’s Court–including this one commemorating the Massasoit (Wampanoag) people.

P. 31

Alyce Corner

Interacting with the Downtown Urban Fabric Our site activates Main Street, West Elm Street, and the side alley adjacent to the Expo while ensuring residents still have a quiet outdoor place to relax away from the downtown bustle.

Our design pays homage to the historical elements of New England Main Street buildings adjacent to our site while creating a modern building design suited for 21st Century users.

The brick facade detailing matches those of neighboring buildings.

Partnerships to Help Alyce Corner Thrive NeighborWorks will build on close ties to community-based organizations within a close walk of the site.

MassHire Greater Brockton Career Center will provide additional support to help foster stability.

Helping lower-income residents Father Bill’s and MainSpring, along with the Department of Transitional Assistance, will provide wrap-around case management support to the extremely low-income tenants. Nearby service providers such as the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center and the

Ensuring upwardly mobility The Brockton Networking Expo, MassDevelopment, will deliver small business assistance on-site at the Expo along with NeighborWorks.

MetroSouth Chamber of Commerce will co-host quarterly homeownership sessions with the

| P. 32

Brockton Redevelopment Authority on-site for workforce residents looking to generate wealth through homeownership.

Creating community While NeighborWorks will oversee community space events, they’ll work with the Old Colony YMCA and the Brockton Public LIbrary programming that meets residents’ needs.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Sustainability through Design

We achieved sustainability in our design through a focus on energy savings, climate resilience, and healthy living. This puts Alyce Corner on track to achieve LEED Silver and Enterprise Green Communities certifications.

Sustainable Materials We use a mass timber structural system for all floors, including glue laminated columns and beams as well as cross laminated timber floor plate systems, to reduce the building’s overall carbon footprint. The use of wood allows not only for a tight thermally insulated building to keep internal temperatures consistent, but also provides a low embodied energy alternative to steel or concrete.

Energy Efficiency All of our units will come equipped with ENERGY STAR appliances, and residents will receive training to ensure correct use. Lighting power inside dwelling units will be less than 1 watt/ square ft, and occupancy sensors in closets and communal spaces will further support energy savings.

The natural light afforded by building orientation and large windows will minimize the need for artificial lighting.

Project Proposal

Remedying Impervious Surfaces The use of a green space with perforated pathways allows for rainwater cleaning and filtration on the site. Early on, we learned that impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete cover the vast majority of Brockton’s land area, particularly in the downtown core. The reintroduction of green space at Alyce Corner adds much-needed permeable surface area to help address pollution and runoff challenges.

Helping Promote Healthy Living Our building features wood flooring instead of carpet and avoids ‘Red List’ chemicals to minimize the potential for asthma and other harmful consequences of poor air quality. To ensure HVAC efficiency and longterm maintenance, we plan to deploy the low-cost Remote Monitoring and Optimization system developed by Boston-based New Ecology Inc., to track building performance in real time.

wellness space with gym equipment and yoga classes. Resident classes devoted to learning about eating locally and sustainably will further support the mission of healthy living.

Preparing for Climate Change and Natural Disasters Resilient development means being prepared for shocks and stressors ranging from flooding to pests and fires to pandemics. At Alyce Corner, the Conditioned Community Residential Spaces (on floors 4 and 5) will be run by a backup generator and include charging stations, a fridge for essential medication, and backup LED lights, ensuring that in the case of a power outage residents can stay safe and connected. In addition, buildingwide WiFi will allow residents to stay connected all around Alyce Corner if needing to shelter in place from a pandemic or natural disaster.

As well as a healthy building, Alyce Corner promotes healthy people in its living spaces. On floor 4, residents will have access to an exercise and

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Alyce Corner

Aligning with Smart Growth Principles Our proposal embraces Smart Growth Design Principles to ensure Alyce Corner is sustainable in every sense of the word.

Mixed-Use Development.

The range of uses – commercial, residential, and green space – creates vibrancy and aligns with the City’s desire for mixed-use development.

Compact Building Design. We create vertical density to match nearby building heights and maximize residential density given the downtown core site context.

A Range of Housing Opportunities and Choices. Our unit mix provides housing options for households ranging from 30% AMI to 80% AMI. ADA units and units set aside for the formerly homeless reflect our team’s core value of inclusivity.

Walkability. Our downtown location means a myriad of amenities within walking distance.

Our public courtyard further promotes walkability, creating a new green node downtown that will draw in passersby.

Fostering a Sense of Place.

A wide range of residential programming encourages community building. The Expo creates a new regional destination downtown, placing Alyce Corner at the epicenter of Brockton’s inclusive revitalization.

Preserving and Creating Open Space. Our project includes both a public courtyard and private outdoor space for residents, promoting access to green space for all.

Strengthening and Directing Development Towards Existing Communities. The unit mix for Alyce Corner builds off of current demand and need, all informed by our community engagement and research.

Transportation Choices. Within a 10-minute walk, the commuter rail and BAT bus provides access to other Brockton destinations and communities across the state.

Bike lanes along Main Street and on-site bike storage promote sustainable transportation options.

Predictable, Fair and CostEffective Development. Our finances support these smart growth principles, reflecting cost-effective development that ensures long-term affordability.

Community and Stakeholder Collaboration. Alyce Corner was designed with our most important stakeholders in mind: its future residents. More than 20 conversations with stakeholders informed our work, and we outline plans for future engagement postCOVID.

Brockton commuter rail station, which is only a 35 minute ride into South Station

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Design |

Zoning and Parking Zoning Requirements This project aims to meet community needs, which include maximizing density. Our building covers 102,542 gross square feet; current regulations for the site, which is 49,000 square feet, limit the maximum buildable square footage to 61,250 square feet.

We feel the higher FAR ratio is in line with 40R Smart Growth standards for increased density and mixed-use in

downtown Brockton, but will require a variance. Our plans also call for a slightly taller building than is allowed by-right to matchalign with current and planned buildings on the block.

transit, which Alyce Corner advances through siting and design. We believe the local Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals will support the variances.

In early conversations with the city Planning Department, we heard support around goals of increased densification and connections to

Parking spots Parking for Alyce Corner is split into two levels, with the entrance to the first level off of L Street, and to the second level off of West Elm Street.

The image on the right shows the grade change (about 7 feet), which allows for two-floor parking garage without interior ramp.

63 bike parking spaces

84 vehicle parking spaces 44 for residents

Project Proposal

40 for Expo users

P. 35

Alyce Corner

FINANCE

05

Our Funding Program Overall Program

Residential

61,200 gsf

Our funding program for this project is guided by three main goals: 1.

Commercial

16,802 gsf

Green Space

2.

To take advantage of the affordable housing and commercial development funding sources available in Massachusetts and Brockton;

3.

To take advantage of the large size of our site to build as many new units as we could feasibly

11,942 gsf

Parking

84 Spaces 350 average sf per space 29,400 above grade gsf

To build a project that offers space to Brockton’s extremely low income earners as well as its growing population of workforce professionals commuting to Boston and finding employment within Brockton;

How is our program competitive for federal and state tax credits?

Our project meets the following DHCD priority funding categories: 23% of our project units are for ELI households earning less than 30% AMI, with some units being set aside for the formerly homeless and persons with disabilities.

Our project is an investment in a distressed and at-risk neighborhood of a Gateway City where strategic housing investment has a strong likelihood of catalyzing private investment, improving housing

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finance that align with market demand, as well as to provide ground-floor space that further supports the city’s economic revitalization.

Our project includes mixed-income housing, combined with both public and private green spaces and firstfloor office space. Due to the large size of our project, financial feasibility requires funding the (1) residential, parking, and green space and (2) the commercial space largely separately using different funding sources, with one pro forma for each separating development costs. The mixed-use nature of our project allows us to utilize a diverse range of local, state, and federal funding sources.

quality, promoting occupancy for a range of household incomes, and supporting a broader concerted plan for community revitalization through investment in jobs, transportation, and education.

Our project’s design is green, sustainable and climate resilient.

Our project includes resident services offering classrooms with flexible space for NeighborWorks’ home education programs, one-onspace for financial counseling and case management, and office space for around twenty NeighborWorks staffers

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Finance |

Residential Program A total of 21 units receive rental assistance through MRVP, Section 8, and Section 811 Programs.

22% of our units target households earning less than 50% AMI.

Unit Mix Our unit mix seeks to balance our two priorities: housing Brockton’s low income earners (between 30–60% of area median income) and housing its growing workforce population.

Given our site’s close proximity to the commuter rail and its location in the heart of downtown, we focused on smaller units.

Project Proposal

Our 21 ELI household units will receive rental assistance from the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP), Section 8 and 811 programs.

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Alyce Corner

Sources and Uses Equity Equity makes up 44% of total development costs. Of this the majority comes from Federal (30%) and State (13%) LIHTC programs, along with additional funds gained from Solar Tax Credits and capital contributed by NeighborWorks.

Hard Debt We estimate our permanent debt capacity to be $8.4 million. We assume the permanent debt lender to be MassHousing, who provided us with these debt terms as of April 3rd, 2020.

Soft Debt We draw on a variety of soft debt sources to cover the rest of our residential financing, totaling about 28% of residential development costs. At the state level, we include the Massachusetts’ Housing Stabilization Fund (with a local match), Commercial Area Transit Node Housing Program, and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, as well as a significant contribution from MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative. We also draw on several sources targeted toward low-income individuals with disabilities, including the Community Based Housing fund.

Our soft debt sources reflect the mixed-income nature of our residents.

Our project will be occupied by households earning no more than 80% of AMI during the first 40 years, with the majority earning less than 60% AMI. We include a large share of workforce units, as well as housing for individuals with disabilities. We also utilize CATNHP funding given our transit-rich location.

44% Equity

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+

28% Hard Debt

+

28% Soft Debt

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Finance |

Development Budget We structured our development costs off of NeighborWorks’ nextdoor Sycamore on Main st. Total development cost (TDC) per unit is about $339,000, which is below the maximum DHCD limit of $379,000 per unit for large projects outside of Boston. Our project also benefits from scale and smaller units, leading to a TDC per unit that is below the average TDC of $4000,000 per unit.

For acquisition costs, we factored in the costs of obtaining the two businesses currently on the site, based on conversations with both establishments and an evaluation of the site’s current conditions. We arrived at total hard costs of $22 million and estimated soft costs of $2.2 million.

TDC per unit of $339,255 TDC per unit is $40,000 below the DHCD maximum of $379,000 for large projects outside of Boston.

Project Proposal

P. 39

Alyce Corner

Operating Expenses

Our assumptions for operating expenses are based on Sycamore on Main, with slight adjustments for project-specific expenses. Using these assumptions, we arrived at a Year 1 Operating Expense of $8,448 per unit, and traced expense increases over fifteen years.

Operating expenses total $8,448 per unit (after factoring in $558 per unit in solar savings)

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How our Financials Support Resilient Development

of the building will be preserved beyond 15 years

Our team’s commitment to building a green, resilient development in the heart of downtown is reflected in our financial pro forma in the following ways:

The transit-rich location of our site informs our unit mix, with a large share of units affordable to those in the workforce. It is our hope that this will help incentivize commuting via public transportation

The inclusion of solar panels reduces our total electricity costs by 74% The use of locally sourced, sustainable materials in our project will ensure the physical quality

The inclusion of building-wide WiFi ensures that all residents will be able to stay connected during crises, allowing them to prioritize limited funds on other essentials

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Finance |

Project Proposal

P. 41

Alyce Corner

Commercial Program Sources and Uses Throughout our engagement and market research, we learned about the difficulties of financing non-residential spaces in downtown Brockton, requiring us to deploy creative strategies to reach feasibility. Our main source for the commercial space is permanent debt, off-set with New Markets Tax Credit and a proposed developer fee loan.

Brockton Networking Expo will be the master tenant of the commercial space, and will pay $15 in annual rent (NNN). Brockton Networking Expo

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will lease out smaller portions of the space to aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. The City of Brockton supports the Expo idea, and will help negotiate with a lender to make the permanent debt terms more lenient.

Finally, the funding gap is closed by a developer fee loan that will be drawn from the residential program developer fees. This loan will be amortized over the life of the project, and will be paid down by the NOI of the commercial program.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Finance |

Development Budget Similar to the residential pro forma, the assumptions of our commercial development budget come largely from previous NeighborWorks projects, with all costs separated from residential uses.

Project Proposal

Using these assumptions, we arrive at a total development cost estimate of $4 million.

P. 43

Alyce Corner

Operating Budget

Based on an annual rent (NNN) of $15, we anticipate an annual office rent of $252,030, to be paid by the Brockton Networking Expo.

Operating expenses items such as taxes, insurance, utilities, security, administrative and maintenance expenses are to be borne by the residential program.

Brockton Networking Expo, the commercial tenant, will pay $14 per sqft in annual rent (NNN).

Funding the Expo:

71% permanent debt 22% NMTC 7% developer fee loan

Finance mentor Bill Brauner providing key insights to make Alyce Corner feasible.

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Finance |

Preserving Affordability Solar panels reduce annual electricity costs by 74%

In order to best prepare for the Year 15 disposition process, we propose three actions to preserve our project’s affordability. The first is, leveraging rental assistance programs - MRVP, Section 8 and 811 - to help ELI units meet their monthly rental obligation.

The second is installing solar panels to improve energy efficiency, and hence lower the cost of utilities for the project.

The third action involves NeighborWorks committing to a deed

restriction of 50 years, well beyond the 15 year Federal LIHTC requirement.

This will ensure the application by NeighborWorks is competitive and provide longer term affordability for its residents. NeighborWorks will negotiate in its Operating Agreement with the tax credit investors an Option to Purchase / ROFR. Ultimately, NeighborWorks intends to buy these investors out at the end of the 15 year compliance period for the assumption of all the outstanding debt (including the soft debt sources).

FINANCING ALYCE CORNER AMID COVID-19 It is too early to really understand the effects of COVID-19 on this project’s finances and on affordable housing financing broadly. Our primary concern is that, given the downturn in the market, NeighborWorks may have more difficulty securing financing for the project, or may not find moving to a new site as economically feasible.

While we cannot predict what exactly these changes will be, it is clear that our goal to finance a 100 percent affordable project is more important now than ever.

Project Proposal

P. 45

Alyce Corner

IMPLEMENTATION

06

Development Timeline During this project, we learned that successful affordable housing development depends on a wide range of government and financial institutions, and securing proper funding sources at the right time is a delicate balancing act in the best of times. The uncertainty stemming from the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic makes it difficult to estimate at what point Alyce Corner will be able to break ground.

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Given this uncertainty, we have conservatively estimated our development timeline. Per our partner’s suggestion we have assumed that we will not be awarded LIHTC funds in the first funding round available to us. While this pandemic has made our goal of developing equitable and inclusive housing in Brockton more difficult, it has also made it even more urgent for our team and our developer partner.

2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Implementation |

IMPLEMENTATION

Community Engagement: Next steps Future Outreach Checklist A robust, wide-ranging community engagement effort is essential to mobilizing the ideas and political advocacy necessary to make Alyce Corner a thriving community space.

Given our limited ability to engage with a cross-section of residents, we see our proposal as a template for future action and engagement between the city of Brockton, NeighborWorks, the Brockton Networking Expo, residents, and other stakeholders.

NeighborWorks will need to work closely with the Merian family and Luminosity to secure site control.

ENGAGEMENT METHODS DURING COVID-19 At a time of ongoing COVID-19 impacts and social distancing, we propose that city officials embark a remote, print and digital strategy to ensure that citizen voices are heard. Example methods, including surveys, social media platforms, and zoom public meetings, are described below.

Surveys Create written surveys and distribute at transit stops, grocery stores and other public locations, as well as with service providers, to gather ideas and feedback from downtown residents who do not have reliable access to a computer or internet

Project Proposal

Social Media Deploy social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to crowd-source additional feedback about the future of the site

Video Meetings Conduct public meetings and workshops via video-conferencing software, like Zoom or WebEx, matching a strategy adopted by municipalities nationwide.

P. 47

Alyce Corner

CONCLUSION Alyce Corner weaves together the current and future uses of a block in the core of downtown Brockton. Our proposal honors both the site’s historic past and its evolving present: what CUNY sociologist Sharon Zukin calls the “gradual buildup of everyday experience” that has shaped Brockton’s Main Street. We connect the city’s needs for today with hopes for its future.

We conclude by noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has made our goal of developing equitable and inclusive housing in Brockton even more challenging. It has also made it all the more urgent.

INTERVIEW LIST We spoke with the following people, either in-person or by email or phone, about their ideas and visions for affordable housing and community development in Brockton: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

John Drusinskas, Frederick Douglass Neighborhood Association George Durante, MassDevelopment Hed Ehrlich, Justice Center of Southeastern MA Linda Gabruk, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center Tracie Gutierrez, Brockton Interfaith Council Mike Lambert, Brockton Area Transit Authority Jonathan Lanham, Father Bill’s & MainSpring Louis Lemiuex, Love Alliance Samantha Loutzenhiser, Brockton Clubhouse: Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South Sandra Martin, Elvira’s Cafe Rob May, City of Brockton John and Paul Merian, Merian Brothers tuxedo Cindy Pendergast, NeighborWorks Housing Solutions Paul Protentis, local business owner Dina Remarais, Brockton Networking Expo Michael Rivera, Brockton Assembly of God Linda Teixeira-Reyes and Jennifer Frazier, Luminosity Unidentified resident at Brockton Public Library

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2020 Affordable Housing Development Competition

Implementation |

WORKS CITED A.G. Jennings LLC, Stantec. (2015). Brockton Downtown Action Strategy. https://brocktonredevelopmentauthority.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/downtown-action-strategy.pdf A.G. Jennings LLC, Stantec. (2016). Downtown Brockton Urban Revitalization Plan. https://brockton.ma.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/brockton-urp-voted-by-city-council.pdf Berke, B. (2019). Rent Doubled. Repairs went undone. Now 12 face eviction from a Brockton apartment house. Enterprise News. https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20191118/rentdoubled-repairs-went-undone-now-12-face-eviction-from-brockton-apartment-house Brockton Area Transit Authority. (2020). Route Schedules & Maps. www.ridebat.com/schedulemaps Brockton Housing Authority. (2020). Payment Standards. https://www.brocktonhousingauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20191030132114299.pdf Brockton Housing Authority. (2020). Utility Allowance Schedule. https://www.brocktonhousingauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20191030113921382.pdf City of Boston, Office of Mayor Marty. J. Walsh. (2019). Cape Verdeans in Boston. http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/6bf8a841-63b7-4a53-90bb-94989f41117e City of Brockton, Massachusetts. (2007). 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. https://brocktonredevelopmentauthority.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/10_year_plan_to_end_ homelessness.pdf Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Affordable Housing Trust Fund. (2007). Massachusetts Affordable Housing Trust Fund Guidelines. https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/07/ wm/ahtfguide.pdf Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Housing and Community Development, Commercial Area Transit Node Housing Program Rental Housing Program. (2016). Commercial Area Transit Node Housing Program Rental Housing Program Application Guidelines. https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/11/02/CATNHP%20Guidelines%20-%202016%20final. pdf Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Housing and Community Development, Community Based Housing. (2012). Community Based Housing: Loans for the Development of Housing for People with Disabilities. https://cedac.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CBHGuidelinesUpdatedAugust2012-1.pdf Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Housing and Community Development. (2020). Massachusetts LIHTC: 2020-2021 Qualified Allocation Plan. https://www.mass.gov/ doc/2020-2021-qap-low-income-housing-tax-credit-qualified-allocation-plan-qap/download Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Housing and Community Development. (2020). Notice of Funding Availability. Winter 2020 Affordable Housing Competition for Rental Projects. https://www.chapa.org/sites/default/files/Winter%202020%20NOFA.pdf Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Housing and Community Development. (2019). Updated MRVP Mobile Voucher Maximum Rents. https://www.mass.gov/doc/updatedmobile-voucher-maximum-rents/download Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Housing Stabilization Fund. (2016). Housing Stabilization Fund Rental Application Guidelines. https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/11/06/ hsfrentalapplicationguidelines2016.pdf Cornelissen, S. and Herman, A. (2020). COVID-19 and Financially Vulnerable Homeowners: National Trends and Voices from Brockton, Massachusetts. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/covid-19-and-financially-vulnerable-homeowners-national-trends-and-voices-from-brockton-massachusetts-2/ Donovan, K. (2019). How one city is priming itself for opportunity zone reinvestment. Smart Growth America. https://smartgrowthamerica.org/how-one-city-is-priming-itself-for-opportunityzone-investment/ The Enterprise News. (2018). Alyce Merian Obituary. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/southofboston-enterprise/obituary.aspx?n=alyce-merian&pid=190069419&fhid=25383 FHLB Boston. (2020). Affordable Housing Program – Eligibility. http://www.fhlbboston.com/communitydevelopment/ahp/03_01_01_eligibility.jsp Joh, S., Pebler, A., Titcombe, E. (2018). Green Links: An Urban Green Space Plan for Downtown Brockton. ISSUU. https://issuu.com/conwaydesign/docs/2018_brockton_winterfinalset_issuu Larocque, M. (2018). Brockton’s designing woman: Alyce Merian always dressed for success. Enterprise News. https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20180904/brocktons-designingwoman----alyce-merian-always-dressed-for-success Larocque, M. (2019). PROVA was a success, but at what cost to taxpayers? The Brockton Enterprise. https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/20181220/prova-was-success-but-at-whatcost-to-brockton-taxpayers Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. (2020). MBTA Commuter Rail Ridership by Trip, Season, Route/Line, and Stop. https://mbta-massdot.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/mbtacommuter-rail-ridership-by-trip-season-route-line-and-stop?selectedAttribute=average_ons.

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Project Proposal

P. 49

2020 AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK OF BOSTON

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Harvard University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tufts University

Drew Britton

Ben Demers

Ruthy Gourevitch

Richard Hill

Dreux Santos-Quesnel

Margaret Haltom

Devin Kelly

Nick Pittman

Robin Wyckoff

Astrid Mayak