BROCKTON – It was hailed as the first solar-powered condominium development in New England: Johnson Square Village would feature 26 town house condos equipped with rooftop solar panels, energy-efficient heating systems, double-paned windows, and a special irrigation system to collect rainwater for the lawns.
When ground was broken for this green solar community on Foster Street in 2006, many expected it would serve as a model for years to come.
But for the handful of residents here, it’s been a nightmare.
The article goes on to describe a developer who lost financing because a small bank was required to shore up its finances.
Their plan to build solar condos had been so well-received that the project was awarded a $458,300 grant in 2006 by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Johnson Square Builders LLC received $105,762 of that grant money in October 2007 and can get the next payment after another eight units are completed, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
Last June, state and federal regulators accused The Community Bank of Brockton of engaging in “unsafe or unsound banking practices” and ordered the bank to shore up its finances.
On Jan. 1, the Globe reported that The Community Bank had filed a plan with regulators to boost its reserves, and had taken steps to improve profitability, issue fewer new loans, and sell some of its existing loan portfolio.
Bank president David W. Curtis confirmed this Wednesday, and said the situation at the bank is “only getting better.” He declined to comment on the Johnson Square Village development, for which the bank still holds a mortgage.
Does anyone have a possible solution to get this promising project up and running? It seems like such a waste to walk away from a potential green construction model when it’s so close to completion. I would have appreciated more reporting on the actual energy savings from solar panels, etc., if any, achieved by current tenants.
Aren’t there other housing projects overseen some hybrid government/private commission slated for stimulus funds? And even if stimulus funds can’t be used directly, aren’t there any of those bailout funds available to smaller banks for local businesses?
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p>I realize there may be more to this story than the sketchy reporting indicates, but doesn’t it seem shameful to let people lose their housing and to let a promising project bite the dust for want of the resources necessary to build 2 more units? It seems like it would be in the interest of the environment, job development and housing needs to support this project.
But Mass ranks next to last in disbursing stimulus money, preferring to hoard it to prop up the state budget instead.
You could have some of the larger “Green” supporters in Cambridge, Brookline, Lexington, Wellesley, etc. put up some of their own money to help this important project come on through to the finish line.
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p>They will not, not because they don’t believe in green energy and all that, but because they did not end up living in those wealthy communities and wealthy themselves by investing in projects that lose money and this project sounds like a money loser from the get go.
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p>I mean, read the story, the condo fees were being paid to the developer’s wife.
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p>This cries out for the Attorney General to get involved as some of our citizens have been taken advantage of by an unscrupulous developer. It does not cry out for us to throw money at the project to bail people out of what was a very bad decision on their part. For that I have empathy, but I do not believe that the state should bail out everyone who makes a bad investment decision.
I still believe that it would be more fiscally responsible for the state and/or city to help locate financing to complete a project that is nearly done, rather than to let it become an empty structure in the middle of a city badly in need of housing and green jobs. Frankly, I don’t know much about the details of this project, but as someone who lives on the South Shore and knows lots of unemployed carpenters and electricians who would love to get some practical experience working in “green” construction, this project sounds like one worthy of saving.
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p>I also believe that until there is an investigation, you should avoid calling the developer “unscrupulous.” It sounds like a rug may have been pulled out from under him by a bank in trouble and that he truly is a small business man, not a big company, and may be in over his head.
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p>I couldn’t tell much from the Globe article about how effective the solar panels were in reducing energy costs, except for this tidbit: “Powerful sump pumps had to be installed, and her electricity bill skyrocketed from $25-45 a month to $125-175 a month, she said.” If that includes heat/air conditioning, it’s not too shabby.
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Potential opportunities with the adoption of stretch energy codes or the Community Preservation Act.
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p>Stretch Energy Code is new, but the feeling is that cities and towns that adopt it will be able to apply for grants to help with green building projects. Much as with the CPA, early adopters will have the advantage of less applicants going after a given amount of grant money. With the CPA matching funds, the early adopter advantage was enormous.
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p>I am unaware if Brockton has passed a CPA (added local tax of up to 3% on annual real estate tax bills) or a stretch energy code.
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p>I also agree that the developer may have both gotten in over his head and run into a perfect storm with his bank, but it also seems as though he may have bit off more than he could chew and that may have been something that the buyers should have considered when purchasing their units.
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p>One final thought, Barney Frank was successful at getting stimulus funds / bailout funds for OneUnited Bank in Boston, a bank that, by all accounts, should NOT have received any federal money based on its past practices (having a porsche as a company car is one popular example). Maybe a letter (or multiple letters) from concerned citizens, union leaders and local elected officials to Barney could get the ball moving from the Federal level.
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p>I disagree with Barney having supported OneUnited, but he has the most power amongst the MA delegation even if he is not your Congressman in Brockton it is worth an effort.
about the situation.
CPA money is for open space, historic preservation or affordable housing. Is this an affordable housing project?