The Village at 815 Main Street
The Village at 815 Main Street is an affordable housing project in Wareham that almost didn't get built.

Recovery Act Impact: The Village at 815 Main Street

  • Affordable housing project: 49 units

  • Stimulus funding: $8.5 million

  • Workforce housing: For residents earning at or below 60% of area median income

  • Total development cost: $12 million

As John Scanlan, founder and president of JK Scanlan, the developer on the project, tells it, in November 2008, the day before Scanlan was set to close on the project, their tax credit customers pulled out of the deal, leaving a financing gap of $8.5 million.

At that point, it looked like the much-needed 49 affordable housing units - not to mention the construction jobs that would go into building the project - would not get built.

"We spent 2009 trying to find someone else who would buy the tax credits," said Scanlan. But that proved impossible. That is, until the stimulus program came along.

The Village at 815 Main Street
Under the stimulus-funded tax credit exchange program, Scanlan received $8.5 million and the project was back online. In fact, The Village at 815 Main Street is the first affordable housing project to close under the stimulus funded tax credit program in Massachusetts.

"This project went ahead because of those tax credit exchange funds," said Scanlan. "If the stimulus program had not happened, this project wouldn't be here. The construction jobs wouldn't have happened."

The Village at 815 Main Street broke ground in February 2010 and its first occupancy permits were issued the next October. The project is workforce housing, meaning residents need an income to be eligible but it can be at 60% of the median income. The complex was fully leased up within two months and there is currently a waiting list to get in.

"We didn't expect it to be leased up that quickly," said Scanlan. "Some people came from their parent's basements or were under housed. This is exactly what was supposed to happen."