Gardner Terrace I

Massachusetts

Attleboro, MA, like many communities in Massachusetts, faces a significant need for more affordable housing, a need that is most acutely felt by seniors living on fixed and lower incomes. Gardner Terrace I Apartments is a rehabilitation project of a historic apartment building in Attleboro. The development preserved 92 affordable rental homes to the community for older adults aged 62+ and for people with disabilities.

The property was originally several different factory and mill buildings that were gradually connected over the course of the early 1900s. The property became an apartment building in the 80s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. One of the original factories was a jewelry factory which processed large quantities of gold – leading people to say that the floors and walls of Gardner Terrace are literally lined with gold.

Our long-time nonprofit partner Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) acquired the property in 2020 and worked with Boston Financial to secure federal LIHTC and historic tax credit equity.

POAH was able to update the property without displacing any of the tenants currently living at Gardner Terrace I. A lot of care went into preserving historic things, like the enormous windows, while making an environmentally sound “tight envelope” for the building.

Rodger Brown, Managing Director of POAH, told Tax Credit Advisor that “Historical preservation presents a real challenge. There are an amazing number of windows, and the building was not energy efficient before we got here.” The rehab included roof and siding replacement, replica window installation, improved ventilation, energy-efficient upgrades on the cooling and heating systems, and upgrades to apartments and common areas. 

Gardner Terrace I is one of 14 investments Boston Financial has made with POAH since 2002 across the Eastern and Midwestern United States.