Business
Eastern Bank Provides $14 Million Loan To The Arts & Business Council Of Greater Boston For Its Landmark Purchase Of The Western Avenue Studios & Lofts In Lowell, MA
The Western Avenue Studios & Lofts, one of the largest live/work artist communities in the country, will be preserved and provide affordable housing
About this update from Eastern Bankshares, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nThe Western Avenue Studios & Lofts, one of the largest live/work artist communities in the country, will be preserved and provide affordable housing\n\n BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nEastern Bank is pleased to announce a $14 million loan to the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston for its landmark purchase of the Western Avenue Studios & Lofts (WASL) in Lowell, MA. The WASL complex includes 240,000 square feet of space, 250 work-only artist studios, 50 live/work studios, and a brewery, cafe, and gallery, representing an economic development and cultural asset in Lowell and beyond.\n\n“Affordable housing is essential to keeping our local economy thriving and growing,” said Pamela Feingold, Senior Vice President and Group Director of the Community Development Lending Group at Eastern Bank. “Through a collaborative financing model with our community partners, the Western Avenue Studios & Lofts building will be preserved and rent for practicing artists will be kept affordable.”\n\nThe Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston (A&BC) seeks to empower artists and organizations with the resources they need to practice their crafts and grow their businesses. The purchase of Western Avenue is part of the A&BC’s Creative Campus Initiative, a response to gentrification in Greater Boston and the resulting loss of affordable maker spaces for creative communities. This purchase ensures that the artists spaces at Western Avenue Studios & Lofts will remain affordable, community-based and dedicated to creative businesses.\n\n“As our local communities gentrify, access to capital to preserve their arts spaces becomes challenged,” said Jim Grace, Executive Director of the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston. “As a community bank with a specialty in community development lending, Eastern had the experience needed to understand the unique economics at play and build the collaborative financing model needed for this project to succeed. As a result, we expect artists in Lowell to have affordable and secure spaces to live and work for generations to come, sustaining a vibrant and active role of the arts in this community.”\n\nEastern provides a range of community development financing offerings to fund the development of affordable housing and support the credit needs of non-profits. Community development lending solutions include construction...