LOWELL — The City of Lowell is investing in making homeownership reachable for residents, and on Tuesday joined with community partners to cut the ribbon on 33 fully affordable condominiums in the heart of the Acre.
City Manager Thomas A. Golden, Jr., and Mayor Erik Gitschier gathered with leaders from MassHousing, Rockland Trust, and the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership (MVHP), as well as developers Will Soucy and Don Garcia, to open Suffolk Place at 408 Suffolk St.
The four-story condominium complex at the corner of Suffolk and Market streets was developed by Suffolk Place, LLC., led by Soucy and Garcia. In addition to providing housing units, it also includes first-floor commercial space.
Suffolk Place will give 33 households earning 80% to 100% of area median income the opportunity to buy a home for $199,000 to $330,000.
The project was funded with support from Rockland Trust, the City of Lowell’s Community Preservation Act, and MassHousing’s Commonwealth Builder Program, which expands affordable homeownership in Gateway Cities like Lowell.
Mayor Gitschier thanked the community partners who made the development possible, and touted the impact that the Community Preservation Act, passed in 2019, has had on Lowell.
“I’m not sure people realize how much that has really, really changed our city by preserving open space and creating affordable housing,” Mayor Gitschier said.
The City is also using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME funds to support down-payment assistance for eligible first-time homebuyers, making the dream of homeownership even more accessible.
The MVHP, a HUD-approved nonprofit agency, is serving as the lottery and marketing agent and providing first-time homebuyer education and counseling to prospective buyers.
A number of units at Suffolk Place are still available, and are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, residents should contact MVHP, which has helped more than 25,000 first-time homebuyers since it was founded in 1986.
“The partnership that created this building is making dreams come true by providing families with education, counseling, down payment assistance and affordable financing to achieve homeownership,” said City Manager Golden. “I am proud of our investment in not only developing Lowell but developing it in a way that keeps it affordable for the working families who have always been the fabric of our city.”
Suffolk Place is the second fully affordable homeownership development that the team involved has created in the Acre. In 2024, the team opened Acre Crossing at the corner of Merrimack and Cabot streets. Acre Crossing is now home to 32 families who live in affordable condominiums on the four floors above Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union offices.
Prior to the development of Acre crossing, there had not been a homeownership development built in the Acre in over 20 years. Suffolk Place continues the momentum started by Acre Crossing and represents another chapter in the City’s effort to bring homeownership back to the Acre, family by family, and building by building.
In 2025, the City of Lowell permitted 256 new units of affordable and market-rate housing.
Maria McDuffie Clark worked with MVHP to become a first-time homebuyer in Lowell and now serves on the organization’s board. McDuffie Clark told the story of moving to Lowell from North Carolina, studying here, working here, falling in love with the city, and then realizing a dream that she once thought would be impossible — homeownership.
“Families deserve stability, and they deserve options. They deserve to stay rooted in the city they love without being priced out of it,” McDuffie Clark said. “Affordable housing is how we keep Lowell’s heart intact by making sure the people who give this city it’s character remain a part of it.”
To contact the MVHP, visit: mvhp.org/.
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