Commercial Space

• Early in the pre-approval process the YMCA met with the Ipswich Planning Board to discuss its ideas regarding the then, all residential Powder House Village concept.  Because the property is located in a commercial district the Planning Board requested that commercial units be added to the plan.  The YMCA honored that request by including 4 small, commercial units to the overall plan.

48 Units

• As an experienced sponsor of Affordable Housing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the YMCA developed many early proformas for Powder House Village.  The YMCA tested numerous plans in regard to unit numbers against a myriad of Affordable Housing funding packages.  In the end the only model that proved feasible for implementation was the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program.  Once this model and its funding stream was determined to be feasible, the YMCA again ran a myriad of proformas to determine the number of units necessary in such a development in order to make it financially feasible.  The least number of units necessary to make the project a reality was 48. 

Affordable housing of all types is needed on the North Shore.  Affordable rental units are most needed, however, developers choose to build "for sale units" because the return on investment is captured almost immediately, unlike rental units where the investment is returned over many years.  Because of this financial reality, the 48 unit formula was the only viable option for the YMCA.

• In completing the Zoning Board of Appeals' strenuous permitting process, the Town's Affordable Housing Consultant, Ed Marchant, confirmed that the number of units as determined by the YMCA was indeed correct.  
  
  
• By providing 48 units of affordable housing to deserving individuals and families, the YMCA will not only be positively affecting the climate for Affordable Housing in Ipswich, but will also be taking a very significant step in fulfilling the Town's requirement for Affordable Housing as mandated by the Commonwealth.

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