BOSTON – May 5, 2025 – MassHousing has provided $9.9 million in CommonWealth Builder financing for the development of Amherst Community Homes in Amherst, which will create 30 new condominiums for purchase by moderate-income, first-time homebuyers.
Valley Community Development is developing the new homes in 15 duplex buildings in North Amherst with 10 of the units restricted to homebuyers earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and 20 of the units restricted to homebuyers earning up to 100 percent of AMI.
"This project will turn an underutilized area in the town into 30 brand new homes for first-time homebuyers," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. "The people who purchase these homes will be able to set down roots in Amherst and begin building wealth, along with all the other benefits of homeownership."
"This development is over three years in the making, and we could not be more excited to add affordable homeownership opportunities to the Amherst community," said Alexis Breiteneicher, Executive Director of Valley Community Development. "Having affordable housing options from rental to homeownership is critical in addressing the housing crisis. Valley is deeply grateful to MassHousing and the CommonWealth Builder program for being committed to decreasing the homeownership wealth gap."
MassHousing is supporting the project with $9.9 million in CommonWealth Builder funding. Greenfield Cooperative Bank is providing $4 million in construction financing and the Town of Amherst is providing $1.475 million in Community Preservation Act and Affordable Housing Trust Fund financing.
The development will be on Montague Road on land previously developed for commercial and industrial uses and currently has fields of vegetated land. The development will cluster the new duplex condominium buildings to maximize shared open space on the site.
Amherst Community Homes will create 18 new two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units. All homes will be deed-restricted and affordable for first-time homebuyers earning between 80 percent and 100 percent of the area median income. Homes are expected to sell at prices ranging from $162,900 to $267,000.
The new condos are designed to meet Energy Star NextGen certification and will use air source heat pumps for heating and cooling, Energy Recovery Ventilators for ventilation, and tight building envelopes. The buildings will be sited and designed for passive solar. Valley Community Development permitted Amherst Community Homes under Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing development law.
The general contractor is Keiter Corporation. The architect is Austin Design Cooperative, Inc., and the management agent will be Hampshire County Property Management Group.
About the CommonWealth Builder Program
The CommonWealth Builder Program is a landmark initiative to expand access to homeownership and generate wealth-building opportunities. It is the largest state-level program of its kind in the nation and provides market-based subsidies to support the construction of new, moderately priced, single-family homes and condominiums. The program subsidizes the production of homes restricted to homebuyers with incomes set anywhere between 70 percent to 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).
MassHousing's Homeownership Division supports CommonWealth Builder with a combination of mortgage financing for homebuyers, down payment assistance loans, mortgage insurance with job-loss protection at no added cost, and targeted marketing in Boston and the state’s Gateway Cities.
Since the program was launched in 2019, MassHousing has committed a total of $175.7 million to 33 CommonWealth Builder projects across Massachusetts. These projects will create a total of 804 new homeownership opportunities, including 715 new affordable homes for first-time homebuyers.
About Valley Community Development
Since 1988, Valley Community Development Corporation has worked on addressing the needs of its community through economic and housing development. VDC has built or preserved more than 400 affordable homes and apartments. They have taught, counseled, and helped almost 9,000 people in their homeownership journey by supporting them in building equity through informed decision making. VCDC serves Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties for homeownership and small business services and primarily Amherst, Hadley, Northampton, and Easthampton for affordable housing development. For more information, please visit www.valleycdc.org.
About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 to confront the Commonwealth’s housing challenges. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations. As a mission-driven agency, MassHousing uses housing finance to strengthen communities and lay the foundation for economic prosperity. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $29 billion in housing finance. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com.
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