
NewtonGardens
Newton Gardens, an apartment complex on North Street, is being transformed into all affordable units. Courtesy PHoto
There’s an apartment complex at 151 North Street near the Waltham line that is about to add to the city’s affordable unit count without creating a single new building.
The Newton Affordable Housing Trust has partnered with Massachusetts housing developer Winn Companies to transform all of that complex’s existing units into affordable, “workplace” priced housing, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced in an email to the community Friday.
Newton Gardens is a 23-building complex consisting of 117 one- and two-bedroom units. With funding from the city and state, Winn Companies is set to buy Newton Gardens and make all apartments permanently AMI-priced (based on a percentage of the area median income). All units will be maxed out at 110 percent AMI, and many of the units will have extra affordability, Fuller noted.
“With the use of the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Funds, 30 of these units will be made even more deeply affordable to households at 80% (14 units) and 30% AMI (16 units),” she wrote.
The median income for individuals in Newton is around $70,000. The median household income in Newton is around $176,000.
“We created the Newton Affordable Housing Trust in December 2021 to provide a streamlined process for funding and creating affordable housing throughout Newton,” Fuller continued. “As a member of the Trust, which includes experts in affordable housing development and funding as well as representatives from the City Council and Community Preservation Committee, I am excited to have an opportunity to help move this project forward. I joined other NAHT members at their meeting on January 21 when a unanimous vote was taken to authorize $4 million in Trust funding to assist Winn Companies in acquiring Newton Gardens.”