HCA Newsletter

Laura Frost had lived in her light-filled apartment at 840 Mass Ave for close to 20 years when the long-time family owners sold it to a real estate company. She became very worried. Laura and many other tenants had lived there for many years because rents had remained reasonable. They were school teachers, musicians, writers, self employed small business owners, and employees of local stores – all part of the local Arlington community.

But Laura isn’t one to sit on the sidelines. She formed a tenant association with her neighbors in order to get ahead of their fears and negotiate for rent increases they could afford.

Laura notes, “When the new owner started remodeling vacant units and renting them for almost twice what we were paying, we knew we were in jeopardy. We tried negotiating a rent schedule, but they rejected it. Then they demanded huge increases — some as much as 80% — that would force many of us out. We tried several more times to negotiate, with no success.”

The tenants then went on the offensive, staging a rally, connecting with town and state officials and civic groups, and posting signs in their windows. The developer took them to eviction court but the tenants obtained pro bono legal help to hold them off.

That’s when the tenants came to HCA. If they could not negotiate affordable rents, maybe the local nonprofit could buy their buildings and help save their homes.

And that is what we did! HCA bought the three buildings (59 apartments) where Laura and her neighbors live, in order to preserve them as affordable housing for the long term.

Please give today to keep this kind of work going strong.

We build new affordable housing, but we also remove properties from the speculative market — and save the homes of Arlington residents like Laura. These 59 families now have peace of mind that their rents will not skyrocket again, that they are stable and housed.

But HCA can’t do this work alone. Your involvement is essential. Please support HCA today with your donation — and consider making an increase from your last gift.  Help ensure that we can continue to respond to the housing crisis, and work with tenant leaders like Laura to make Arlington affordable for all.

It is cheaper and faster to buy an existing building than to build a new one. But buying property is still very expensive. HCA spent a lot of time negotiating for a lower price. We spent even more time trying to secure the funding we needed to support the final price.

There were many months when we did not think we would raise enough funds…but we would not give up until we knew we had done everything we could!

That determination enabled HCA to secure essential subsidized loans and grants. We are especially grateful to the Arlington Housing Trust and the Town of Arlington for their financial commitments to this project.

When you donate to HCA you are investing in a deep commitment to community, and to getting the work done.

But HCA still meets families every week who cannot afford their rent, who fear becoming homeless. I wish we could buy every one of their buildings. Maybe with your help we will!

In the meanwhile, we keep helping those who come to us. Our social service and civic engagement staff listen to tenants in need, help them solve problems, and help them access resources so that they can remain stable in their homes. Then we invite them to get involved with HCA — and use their direct knowledge to advocate for more affordable housing.

Your gift to HCA today will support so much in the coming year:

• Repairs at the newly acquired buildings to address safety issues and deferred maintenance.
• Construction of 43 beautiful apartments at 10 Sunnyside Ave! Our first all-electric, highly energy-efficient multi-family building, which will be certified to Passive House standards.
• Progress on plans to build ~37 new units of affordable housing on the sites we acquired where Laura lives. We will keep you updated as those plans move forward!
• Development of local tenant leaders who are advocating for housing projects and programs, and influencing HCA’s property management policies for the better.

It is a scary time for many families. Rents keep rising. Many Arlington residents, including HCA tenants, temporarily lost food benefits, and many may still lose healthcare benefits. But we are lucky to be in Arlington — where we take action to make sure our neighbors can thrive.

HCA is working hard to care for our community and meet the ongoing housing crisis head on. Please stay in the fight with us by making as generous a donation as you can today.

With Gratitude,

Erica Schwarz
Executive Director