Affordable housing hasn’t been built in Dartmouth in the last decade. 

And after five years, the Mendes-Monteiro housing project announced back in 2018 has re-entered the spotlight, a half million dollars short in construction costs.

Since the results of the April construction bid came to light, Dartmouth Partners in Housing, who is overseeing this project, has been working with the Dartmouth Housing Authority to borrow the remaining funds.

The Mendes-Monteiro project is a 10-unit affordable housing development for seniors who receive services from the Department of Mental Health. The original 2018 design has been expanded from its initial six units, according to Connie Desbiens, director of Partners in Housing.

The project, which would be constructed on Anderson Way, was put up for bid at $4.4 million However, the lowest bid came back $500,000 over. In June, the bid was accepted from Southcoast Improvement Company, which is based in Marion and has a portfolio filled with prior work on other assisted living facilities throughout Massachusetts, according to Desbiens.

During its Monday, July 22 meeting, the Housing Authority and Partners in Housing met to discuss the final details of a 30-year $500,000 loan, go over other associated legal documents and scheduled the anticipated final meeting to sign the documents on Wednesday, July 31 at 5:30 p.m.

Dartmouth Community Preservation funds, Massachusetts Department of Health Facilities Consolidation Funds and the National Housing Trust Fund are the main financial supporters of this project, according to Desbiens.

Pending approval from all involved parties, the construction would begin in August, according to Desbiens.

Another detail changed among the legal documents was to ensure the Housing Authority has “senior priority,” meaning if the housing were to foreclose, it would get repaid first. 

According to Partners in Housing legal consultant Jonathan Driscoll, having these terms approved by the state is "a really good indication of the state’s support for this relationship [as senior priority to another public lender] is not a very standard concession.”

Anticipating additional funds from the Department of Health for the provider of services and property maintenance, Partners in Housing hopes to use remaining funds toward paying off the loan, according to Housing Authority Executive Director Robbie DeSouza.

In the coming weeks, the Housing Authority and Partners in Housing will iron out the responsibilities of property management.

Housing Authority Chair Michael Mattos said that although board members were wary about loaning this money from the reserve fund, he added he personally feels more confident about the decision after reviewing the budget and legal details.

Mattos said annually, “we are putting a significant amount of cash back into those reserves.”

“It fluctuates, but it's not a dry well,” he said, adding how as a public entity, the Housing Authority cannot build housing, but “this lets us continue our mission as a Housing Authority and provide affordable housing for extremely low income folks in town.”