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The Allston-Brighton Homeownership Fund, which has provided down payment assistance to some residents since summer 2022, is expected to see a cut in $150,000 from $250,000 to $100,000.

The fund provides a loan of up to $50,000 without interest for a first-time homebuyer hoping to buy property in Allston or Brighton. Unless the homebuyer is selling, refinancing, or transferring the property, the loan would not have to be paid off. 

Which homebuyers get the down payment assistance is determined by Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation (ABCDC) and the Boston Home Center. 

The homeownership fund is financed by New England Development, the property developer responsible for Allston Yards (301 Guest St), which currently contains what is called Alder: a Stop-and-Shop, dining, and a housing development — with 144 market-rate units with rents starting at $2,890 per month for studios and 21 income-restricted units. 

Each time the city’s Inspectional Services Department approves a building permit for a parcel of the New England Development’s Allston Yards site, negotiated community benefits are triggered. New England Development must provide funding for the Allston-Brighton Homeownership fund, among other benefits. 

In 2021, New England Development received a building permit for its Alder, which is its Parcel A development. It thus directed $1,250,000 to the homeownership fund, which was dispersed over several years.

The funds from the community benefits from Parcel A have been used up. “They said they’ve actually spent all the money that they originally had, and then some, providing some additional down payment for some affordable homes that were built down on Antwerp Street — the Harvard-owned land that was then developed by Urbanica,” said John Woods, executive director of ABCDC. “So, they used up that money for that, which was good because it helped. More people have a chance to buy over there.”

As a result of the funding being used up, financing for the homeownership fund has declined.

Woods added that, according to his conversations with Aaron Hallquist, a city worker who oversees compliance at the city’s planning department, New England Development has not yet requested official building permits for its remaining four building parcels, despite starting work on some of the parcels.

He said that Hallquist “mentioned that the next permit expected to be pulled on the project would be Parcel E as opposed to the Parcel B part of the project that I was anticipating.”

Until New England Development requests and is approved for a building permit, new financing for the homeownership fund is not expected. ■