going to takeick off very a couple of thank yous and I'm probably not going to hit everyone but then hand it over to our mayor. But uh today is made possible because of our funding partners who have really believed in this program. The team at the Mass Housing Investment Corporation represented here today by
President and CEO Motti Té. very dedicated staff at the mayor's office of housing, Dan Leser, Adam Goldstein, raise your hand. Steven Dunovan and Derek Hobson who oversee the the construction and the rep the rehab. Uh colleagues at the Boston Housing Authority, especially Kenzie Bach and
David Gle who are both here today. As I was just telling the mayor, they really helped provide critical sub rental subsidy so that the residents wouldn't feel any uh rent increases. Critical critical partnership. our dedicated electric officed officials who have
supported the AOP program from its inception and of course our mayor, Mayor Woo. I just want to um just take a 15-second victory lap. So, under the Woo administration, we have built more homes than we have in generations, made historic financial investments in our
affordable housing programs, and I think we've done everything that we can, although there's always more to do to make sure that our residents don't face displacement, including taking rental units out of the speculative market, just like Hillrest. So, it's my pleasure
to introduce Mayor Woo. >> Thank you, Sheila. Thank you for all your incredible leadership and to each and every person on your team. Um we are so so lucky to have Chief Dylan at the helm and um the the Absolutely.
I got the latest count this morning. So this will make for 1,400 homes, families who have been um rooted deeply in Boston now in permanently affordable units through the acquisition opportunity program. And I'm so so
excited that we've made so much momentum and headway on that under Sheila's leadership in the last few years. Um bringing in outside partners and and directing even more resources from our city funds with the partnership of the Boston City Council, from hospitals, mitigation, community mitigation funds,
bringing in our larger anchor institutions, and very importantly from our partners and um developers and and uh real estate folks who are in our neighborhoods. not only doing the work and um keeping our industry and the jobs
going, but as family members themselves, as dads, as community members who understand how important this is. And this is um not the first announcement we have made with Adler. It's not not going to be the last one either. And I I'm just very grateful uh at the range of
support that we've been able to pull together. So, thank you to all my colleagues who are in elected office who you'll hear from briefly in a little bit. City council president Ruthie Luen, city councelor Enrique Pepen, uh state representative Rob Consalvo. Thank you so much to our uh director uh
administrator of the Boston Housing Authority, Kenzie Bach for BHA's role here and in housing and affordability across the city as well. and to our partners um who you'll hear from from um uh Lavi Investment, First Citizen Bank
pres uh and all those who have made this this deal possible today. We are making Boston a more accessible, livable, affordable, and prosperous city. For 30 years, the residents here at 237 Cummins
Highway had a stable place to live. And when the bills hit every month, there was a way to make all of the dollars work. Even as costs have been going up everywhere, this was a building that was effectively offering below market rents and keeping families who otherwise would
have been pushed out of our city. Then the building was put up for sale and residents were rightly worried about what what could happen. Time and time again, we see that when buildings are bought, residents get cleared out, the rents get jacked up extremely high, and
then uh we lose students from our schools, seniors who have been in our community, and families who have made Boston who we are. Uh through these this partnership, there was an opportunity to invest in people and in keeping our community here with the acquisition opportunity program and
support from our partners in the Boston acquisition fund. I am so proud and grateful that Hillrest residents will remain where they are among generations of friends and families. These 16 apartments and the families in them uh will be here and the apartments will
remain affordable permanently. It's impossible to feel at home when the ground beneath your feet is shifting. And that's why affordability and housing creation has been so important to us. Preserving naturally occurring affordable housing is a cost-effective way to make that happen. So the Boston
Acquisition Fund administered by MIC, Mass Housing Investment Corporation, allows us to work with missiondriven developers who are committed to creating and maintaining lowincome housing. When these developers don't have the capital to expand or can't compete with luxury property managers, the city pitches in
to help fund these projects that make Boston accessible to everyone who make our city who we are. And as those loans are paid back, then they go back into the fund and are reinvested in even more affordable housing. Since launching the fund last December, there have been four
loans already issued, translating into nearly 400 homes taken off the speculative market and made permanently affordable to hundreds of families who can rest easy knowing that their housing is stable and their roots will remain planted right here in Boston.
And I'm so excited to announce that First Citizens Bank will be joining the fund with an additional $1 million investment. Thank you so much to Kevin Porus, vice president of community development finance and for citizens bank for
investing in the people of Boston. Your partnership will help our st families stay in the neighborhoods that they've built. And thank you to all our partners who have contributed to the fund. Mass General Bighgam, the Bar Foundation, Boston Foundation, Boston Children's, Dana Farber, Boston Medical Center, Beth
Israel, Deaconist Medical Center, Mic Eastern Bank Foundation, and Tus Medicine. With First Citizens Bank now part of the team in this cause, we're going to ramp up our efforts and and keep even more families in our city. Okay. Common Highway.
Boston Hillrest. Boston. First Citizens Bank. Citizens. Okay, thank you so much. And I will turn it now over to Adler Bernardin. All right. I know it's very cold, so I'm
gonna make it quick. Um, first I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Mayor Woo for your leadership, your vision, and your unwavering commitment to preserving and expanding affordable housing throughout the city of Boston.
Your dedication creates the foundation that makes missiondriven projects like this work. Today is a proud and deeply meaningful um moment for Lavia Investment. Our acquisition of 237 Cummings Highway is
more than a real estate transaction. It is a commitment, a promise, and a clear reflection of what missiondriven development must look like in in the city of Boston. This project embodies the spirit and
purpose of the acquisition opportunity program and the Boston Acquisition Fund. Through this effort, we are preserving 16 homes as affordable housing and ensuring that families who live who live here, working families who contribute to
the fabric of the city of Boston are not displaced. We are not simply keeping these units affordable. We are investing in their future. We'll be doing some infrastructure upgrade which which will include replacing windows to make the
building more sustainable. Um bathroom exhaust, electrical upgrades, mechanical upgrades uh in the building and a host of enhancements that reflects the dignity of these residents deserve.
A mission like this ne is never accomplished alone. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the mayor's office of housing, especially my right-hand man right here, um, Adam Adam Goldstein. Um,
without him, this th this would be a fiction of my imagination as far as preserving this building. Uh, but working very closely with him and thinking very creatively, we were able to make this this deal work. And I also want to thank uh Boston Housing
Authority for stepping in to helping preserving um the the the rents in the in the building. And I also want to thank Emick uh for supporting this acquisition. I also want to recognize First Citizens
Bank for their recent 1 million investment into the Boston Acquisition Fund. an an investment that strengthens the foundation of this program and and it expands the impact it can have um citywide.
As we continue to confront the housing crisis, we must work together uh public, private, and community partners to create solutions that are both innovative and lasting. And to the lenders and financial partners that are here, your role is very critical in
making this happen. I ask that we continue to think creatively about terms and capital structures that that not only safeguard your interests, but also fair and empower emerging developers uh like
myself to scale our impact and expand our access to stable, affordable homes across Boston. Lavi Investment is committed to this work. We are committed to the city and we are committed to ensuring that families can remain in the communities
they call home. Thank you for believing in this mission and thank you for supporting the work that truly strengthens Boston. Thank you. Hey everyone, good morning. >> Honorable mayor, distinguished guests, it's an absolute pleasure to be here
today. On behalf of First Citizens Bank, I'm thrilled to announce our $1 million equity equivalent investment to the Boston Acquisition Fund and our partnership with the city of Boston and EMC. So, round of applause for that. First Citizens believes in building
lasting financial security that grows with the greatest ambitions of our clients, communities, and colleagues. Former Boston private Silicon Valley Bank had a presence in the Boston market for more than 30 years. And First Citizens remains committed to the greater Boston community today and the
years to come. That's why we're proud to invest in the Boston Acquisition Fund to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing and most critically prevent displacement. This partnership with the city of Boston em is about people and community isn't just a place or neighborhood on a map. The people who
live there and call it home is what makes it. Building lasting financial security for entire generations to come is the ripple effect we hope this investment and partnership will have throughout Boston. So, as we move forward, let's keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible and
continue towards the shared goal of expanding affordable housing options and building strong and stable communities where we live and work. Thank you. >> I think so. Hopefully we all fly out. >> Get everybody in. Yeah. >> Can you guys step out in front of the >> Yes. Okay,
>> come on over here. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Pleasure. >> Elected want to say just a quick word. Okay. >> Okay. >> Hey everybody, State Representative Rob Consalvo proudly representing uh Roslandale and this building, this community, and the Massachusetts House
of Representatives. And I just want to say thank you to the mayor, to Chief Dylan, uh, and this administration, the mayor's office of housing, and the staff who've had nothing but a laser-like focus on housing and her administration. From affordable housing to home ownership to affordable rental, you name
it. This administration has made housing a number one priority. And I just want to thank all the partners. I always talk about how government can't do it alone. It takes a village. It takes a partnership. and to see this development with all of these partners making this happen. It's exciting because this community, this community of this building, we know that this program and
what's happening here today will let folks live in the Rosin community now and for years to come. So, thank you very much. >> Good morning everyone. on Boston City Council, Enrique Pep and probably representing Grazdale High Park, Matipan. And I just want to thank the mayor and her administration for always
that strong commitment to affordability to making sure that our residents are able to stay here in the city of Boston. U the the vote that the Boston City Council took, I believe it was last year, in support of the Boston Acquisition Fund was probably the one of the easiest votes that we took because we knew what it meant to the commitment of affordability to the city of Boston.
I'm just very proud that this project is being done right here in the middle of my district to keep my residents here at an affordable rate. So, thank you to everyone that's been part of this. I look forward to even more opportunities in the future. All right. Thank you. >> Hi everyone, Ruian at large city council
and president of the city council. Just really happy to be here today. Thank you to the mayor, to chief Dylan, to everyone who's involved in this project. We all know that it is easier to preserve a unit of affordable housing than it is to create one. So, the more that we can do to preserve affordability as it currently exists, to preserve
naturally affordable um naturally occurring affordable housing, it's incredibly important. I'm proud of the work that we've done on the council alongside the mayor to prioritize affordable housing. Thank you to First Citizens Bank, to the Boston Housing Authority, and to all the partners who made this possible. Uh we need to see more of this next year and in all the
years to come. Thank you. >> Thank Thank you everybody. Let's keep this going. Appreciate you coming out today. Byebye.