20/20/2000 Housing Initiative
Above, the Auburn Street Apartments Open House Ceremony celebrated the redevelopment/renovation of 196 Auburn St. which includes seven affordable apartments for low-income individuals. The project was funded with assistance from the 20/20/2000 initiative.
The Need for Affordable Housing
In the late 1990s, post rent-control era, Boston and Cambridge witnessed skyrocketing housing costs while federal and state resources declined, threatening diversity and the vitality of city neighborhoods. An unwelcome side effect of the region’s booming economy was a scarcity of reasonably priced housing. Times have changed, but the need for affordable housing persists for many working and low-income families throughout Greater Boston.
Harvard Response to Boston and Cambridge Priorities
Started in 2000 and developed in consultation with local leaders, 20/20/2000 is Harvard’s $20 million, 20-year, affordable housing low-interest loan fund, through which the University provides assistance to help create and preserve affordable housing for low and middle-income residents in Cambridge and Boston.
With 20/20/2000 Foresight Housing Success Has Many Funders
The year 2010 marks the midpoint of Harvard’s 20-year affordable housing initiative Harvard 20/20/2000. To date, more than 4,350 affordable housing units have been created or renovated in our host communities of Boston and Cambridge, with the assistance of Harvard 20/20/2000 low interest loan funds. The positive impact of this initiative, which provides highly valued financing, has been significant.