New life for historic Hebronville Mill housing
A major renovation of Hebronville Mill and Gardner Terrace II is underway, with officials on Friday celebrating the effort to preserve 123 affordable apartments in the city.
Local legislators, including Congressman Jake Auchincloss, gathered Friday afternoon at the affordable housing complex to get a firsthand look at the work being done.
Preservation of Affordable Housing — or POAH — acquired Gardner Terrace I and Gardner Terrace II/Hebronville Mill in August 2020. Both properties were converted to affordable housing complexes roughly 40 years ago but had fallen into disrepair.
The first set of renovations to Gardner Terrace I — a former jewelry factory on Pine Street — were completed last year.
Now POAH is renovating Gardner Terrace II and Hebronville Mill, another former factory at 988 Read St. in the Hebronville section of the city, that needed significant reconstruction.
Gardner Terrace II and Hebronville Mill consist of eight buildings — a 52-unit brick building on Knight Avenue and the former Hebronville Mill complex, a seven-building red brick textile factory dating to 1854 that consists of 82 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The property also contains 11 market-rate apartments. Rents will not increase as a result of the renovation project, POAH officials said.
Hebronville Mill was once the site of an original Fruit of the Loom mill in the 1800s. It was built along the Ten Mile River, which historically powered the mill’s machines.
When renovations are complete, there will be 134 units, 123 of which will be income-restricted to households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income.
The units will include a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
One portion of the Gardner Terrace II property is currently occupied because some units required more minimal repairs, while others are being reconstructed from the foundation.
D.F. Pray General Contractors began the work six months ago and expects to complete it in two years.
Aaron Gornstein, president and CEO of POAH, spoke about the importance of the project and introduced several officials in attendance, including Juana Matias, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities.
The project has received more than $80 million from state funding and tax credits, she said.
“And the result is about much more than preserving these buildings. It’s about giving the families who live here safer, healthier, and more energy efficient homes while protecting the affordable housing this community cannot afford to lose,” she said.
Auchincloss, a Democrat who represents the 4th District of Massachusetts which includes the Attleboro area, spoke about the importance of building more affordable housing across the state.
“... if we don’t do it, not only are we going to steal the dignified retirement from our elders, but we’re going to price out our middle class,” he said. “Massachusetts is losing 20- to 45-year-olds and no commonwealth can stay dynamic and entrepreneurial and generate ideas and middle class jobs, with that treadline.”
Also in attendance were state Sen. Paul Feeney, D-Foxboro; state Rep. Jim Hawkins, D-Attleboro; Mayor Cathleen DeSimone; and Mark Tedon, vice president of multifamily programs at MassHousing, which contributed more than $70 million toward the project.
“In a gateway city like Attleboro, affordable housing ensures that our workforce, our seniors, and our families can put down roots without the constant anxiety of being priced out of the city they love,” DeSimone said.
“Indeed, this project demonstrates that we don’t have to choose between preserving our historical character and providing safe, modern, affordable homes. We can, and must, do both.”
By: Rhianwen Watkins
Source: The Sun Chronicle