Lottery will pick buyers for 30 affordable Taunton condos. Price, income limits and more

TAUNTON — They say that the third time’s a charm. At least it was for 68 Church Green.

That was borne out on the soggy afternoon of Jan. 11 when an official groundbreaking was held for a condominium project located directly behind the Old Colony History Museum.

Construction is expected to take about a year to complete and will result in 30 two-bedroom, affordable-rate units contained within four, two-story townhouse buildings.

How long will construction take?

Rich Mazzochi, principal with Tremont Development Partners LLC of Boston, the owner of the property, said he expects the first phase of the project will be completed next fall. The remainder, he said, should be finished within the following 60 days.

Buyers to be selected by lottery

All 30 condos are being reserved for first-time homebuyers who will be selected by means of a lottery.

Mazzochi said the lottery will be handled by Maloney Properties of Wellesley, which will act as both marketing agent and property manager.

Jim Howland, assistant director of Taunton’s Office of Economic and Community Development, says word is now getting around and that “they’re expecting a lot of applications.” Notices publicizing the lottery process will likely be posted on the city’s webpage and in the Taunton Daily Gazette, he said.

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How much will the condos cost?

Purchase prices are expected to range from $195,000 to $255,000 depending on the “area median income,” known as the AMI.

What income level qualifies to purchase?

Taunton is in an AMI region that also includes Mansfield, Norton, Dighton and Berkley. For a family of four the area median income is $124,900.

The four least expensive units will be reserved for households earning no more than 80% of area median income, or $94,600. The remaining 26 will go to households earning up to but not more than 100% percent of area median income or $124,900.

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Previous proposal for senior housing shot down

It’s been nearly six years since the Taunton City Council narrowly rejected a proposal from two non-profit affordable-housing development groups to convert the 1.8 unused acres behind the Old Colony History Museum into a 40-unit apartment building for people 62 and older.

The proposed building would have replaced the vacant and dilapidated Taunton Medical Arts Center — a single-story group of medical offices built in 1958 that has since been demolished. But the 2018 plan was rejected in the face of opposition from neighbors and abutters.

That same month the Old Colony Historical Society, which owns the museum, sued to challenge the right of way claimed by the owner of the property to use the sole access road to the site. In 2019, the court entered a judgment “largely" against the historical society.

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40B proposal also goes by wayside

Meanwhile, later in 2018, the two non-profit groups, who weren’t about to gamble on another city council vote, announced they would instead be pursuing a 40B affordable housing project — including 16 units designated as “extremely low income.”

The state 40B law allows developers to bypass many aspects of local zoning in exchange for designating a percentage of the units as affordable. But at some point, according to Old Colony History Museum board President Bill Hanna, the two non-profits decided to cut their losses and walk away from the 40B project, as well.

For-profit developer steps in

The proposal for the current condominium townhouse project was presented to the city last year by Boston Capital Development LLC and its managing director, Mazzochi. The City Council last year granted a special permit to the for-profit development company, the Planning Board approved the proposal, and the Taunton Zoning Board of Appeals granted three variances for the project to move forward.

The previous owner of the land, Taunton Church Green Realty LLC — consisting of Russell Martorano, Don Backlund and Richard Harris — sold the 68 Church Green site for $900,000 in October of last year.

Property changes hands again

The owner of the property is now Tremont Development Partners LLC, which refers to Boston Capital as its former parent company. Mazzochi is now listed as a principal with Tremont. Both companies specialize in affordable-rate and “workforce” housing development projects.

“That’s our speciality,” said Mazzochi, adding that gateway cities like Taunton are something of a priority in terms of affordable housing development.

Where's money coming from?

The $18.1 million Church Green project has three funding sources:

• Last December, MassHousing announced that its CommonWealth Builder Program was providing $10 million to Tremont Development Partners for its Taunton endeavor. MassHousing is the quasi-public, independent agency that provides financing for affordable housing development in the Bay State.

• Mazzochi says another $7.5 million is a loan from Eastern Bank.

• The remaining $600,000 is coming from the Greater Attleboro-Taunton HOME Consortium — which derives its funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

Why did this proposal succeed?

Howland, of the city's Office of Economic and Community Development, credits Tremont for holding public meetings with abutters and anyone else who wanted to ask questions about the condo project.

“That was key to getting planning, zoning and the council to sign off on it,” Howland said.

He also said that an agreement was brokered between the developer and Old Colony History Museum, so that a handful of parking spaces will be created next to the access road and reserved for museum visitors and patrons.

Reaction to project

David Pottier, a city councilor for nearly 20 straight years, was previously critical of fellow councilors, who back in 2018 voted against a special permit for the original developers.

He chastised them at the time for caving in to what he said was a handful of residents who found fault when none was deserved. Pottier said he preferred the original plan, which he says would have favored lower-income senior citizens and military veterans.

“This could have been done a long time ago,” he said. “There’s still an acute need for senior housing, and who doesn't want to help the veterans who helped defend our country?”

But he said nearly anything will be an improvement to what had become a blighted site.

“It’s better than what’s there now, of course,” Pottier said of the 68 Church Green condominium project. “Half a loaf is better than no loaf.”

Hanna said he’s satisfied with how things have turned out at 68 Church Green: “We’re glad to see that property developed, and we intend to be good neighbors,” he said.

Mazzochi said he found Hanna to be receptive and amiable.

“It was a pleasure to work with him. He was very supportive,” Mazzochi said, adding that “there was such a need to take this dive, and we’re excited.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Construction starts on affordable Taunton condos. Who can buy them?