Marion, MA South Coast Improvement Company (SCIC) has launched an affordable housing division. The new division includes additional staffing in the areas of business development, project management and support.

The new division comes on the heels of SCIC completing phase 1 of a project to convert the former Wingate Residences assisted living and nursing facility in Brewster, Mass. into Serenity Brewster, a rental housing for those ages 55 and over. That project is being developed by the Elevation Financial Group of Orlando, FL; 20% will be affordable housing.

“The affordable component is part of most new developments undertaken these days,” said Tom Quinlan, president of SCIC. “With this new division and added reinforcements, we are better equipped for projects with an affordable housing component.”

With the new division intact, SCIC recently began phase two of the project at Serenity Brewster, which is located at 873 Harwich Rd. (Rte. 124) in Brewster. When complete, the 119,000 s/f Serenity Brewster complex will have 132 units, 20% of which will be affordable (the Massachusetts state requirement is 10%, otherwise known as 40B).

“We’ve been doing affordable projects for years with success. We look to model what we have done in Senior Living and focus on process. We think that many of our processes that have resulted in becoming a partner with top senior living providers translate well into affordable housing,” said Quinlan.

Quinlan was referring to the Simon C. Fireman Community, a 160-unit affordable senior property located at 640 North Main St. in Randolph, Mass. The property is owned and operated by Hebrew SeniorLife. SCIC began a $5 million renovation project there in October 2020. The completion date for that is March 2022.