WALTHAM, Mass. — 2Life Communities has broken ground on Leland House, a 68-unit affordable seniors housing development in the Boston suburb of Waltham.
The new development will stand at the site of the former Leland Home, a community serving 38 seniors founded in 1879 that provided personalized residential and nursing care to seniors in Waltham for nearly 140 years.
“Hannah Leland had a mission, and it’s got to continue,” says Waltham Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy. “There is a shortage of affordable housing, and while luxury housing is built all the time, that is not what we need. This truly affordable housing project is what we need.”
The three-story development is adjacent to the Waltham Council on Aging located at William F. Stanley Senior Center, allowing residents to access the full breadth of services from both organizations. The 1.5-acre site also provides an opportunity for residents to enjoy time outside with landscaped front and side yards, patios and gardening beds.
The development will be 100 percent affordable to senior households with incomes up to 60 percent of the area median income, except for two apartments set aside for on-call, live-in staff.
Leland House will be a highly efficient, sustainable and resilient building designed to Passive House standards — including all-electric HVAC and hot water systems and solar photovoltaic panels.
Funding for Leland House is provided by the City of Waltham, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Massachusetts Housing Partnership, MassDevelopment, MassHousing, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), RBC Capital Markets, Brookline Bank and Mass Save. Development costs were not disclosed.