Lynn
YMCA adds two floors to increase housing
By John Laidler, Globe
Correspondent | July 11, 2004
The Greater Lynn YMCA is nearing completion of a construction
project that will expand its supply of low-cost housing in Lynn
and open it to a broader range of people.
The Y currently rents 56 single-occupancy rooms on the third and
fourth floors of its Neptune Boulevard facility in West Lynn. The
first two floors of the building house its recreational
facilities, along with space for child care, after-school
programs, and a youth center.
The $2.9 million project involves the addition of fifth and sixth
floors to the building, to add 38 single rooms. The expansion will
add 12,000 square feet to the approximately 75,000-square-foot
building.
The work, which is being done by TLT Construction Corp. of
Wakefield, began last November and should be finished by the end
of this month, according to Bruce Macdonald, the Y's executive
director. Macdonald said he expects the new units to be ready for
occupancy by September.
The project is being funded through a combination of federal grant
money awarded by the Lynn Housing Authority and by the state;
state funding; and a grant and a low-interest loan from the
Federal Home Loan Bank.
“We think this is a major improvement to what we've already been
doing,” Macdonald said.
He said it will help the Y meet what has been a growing demand for
the existing units, resulting in long waiting lists. “More
importantly, we are going to be able to make some progress with a
market that we haven't before, which is housing for women.”
The existing units are for men because most tenants must use
shared bathrooms (only eight units have private bathrooms). Each
of the new units will have a private bath, and the two new floors
will be open to men and women.
The new floors will each have a unit that can accommodate people
with physical disabilities, which the current floors do not have.
Ten of the new units will be set aside for clients of Serving
People in Need, a local social service agency. Tenants referred by
that agency will receive counseling and other services from the
agency.
Mayor Edward J. “Chip” Clancy Jr., a Y member, is pleased with the
expansion
“It provides a wonderful service,” he said of the Y's affordable
housing, “to a lot of single men -- and now for women -- that can
use a decent, safe, well-run, place to live.”
The new rooms will rent for $110 per week, according to Macdonald.
The existing rooms rent for $90 a week, except for the eight with
baths, which rent for $110. In addition to housing, the rents also
provide tenants with membership in the Y, which otherwise would
cost them $430 per year.
Despite general support for the project, a possible bone of
contention has arisen between the Y and the city Assessing
Department over whether the Y should be paying property taxes on
some or all of its housing. The Y does not currently pay taxes on
any of its property, including its housing.
“I just want to make sure in fairness to other charitable
organizations that are being taxed on their housing that if the Y
is not to be taxed it's for reasons specific to the Y that make it
different from other organizations, specifically court cases that
address the question,” said Peter Caron, director of assessing.
Macdonald said the Y's position is that its housing is tax exempt.
The Y is classified by the state Department of Revenue as a tax
exempt organization and “there are no Y's in the country that are
taxed for housing,” he said.
“We feel we are a valuable asset to the community. We provide
services . . . that cities aren't able to provide,” Macdonald
said. Housing is “one area we think we can be of assistance.”
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