Devenscrest Village, an example of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH), was acquired by property management company Schochet. Residents of the Ayer development have pushed to maintain affordability after the property was sold to a private developer in 2021.

Because it’s unsubsidized by definition, developers can convert Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing to market-rate.

In an effort to avoid this, The Devenscrest Tenants Association (DCTA) worked with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, local officials and community leaders to send proposal requests to developers. The groups ultimately selected Schochet.

Under Schochet’s management, 79 units will be limited to households earning less than 80% of area median income, 29 for those earning less than 60% and 6 for those earning less than 50%.

“After 4.5 years of struggle to save our homes, DCTA is thrilled that our selected affordable housing developer, Schochet, has acquired Devenscrest and will be our partner in preserving it as reasonably priced housing,” The Devenscrest Tenant Association said in a press release. “We are so grateful to Governor Healey, Secretary Augustus and the EOHLC staff and the Town of Ayer for everything they have done, and we hope that this may inspire other tenants, including those in Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing, to fight to preserve their homes.”

Schochet President and CEO Richard Henken added, “For more than 50 years, our mission at Schochet has been to own and manage communities that are not only affordable but offer a quality of life that people are proud to call home. We are honored to have been selected by DCTA to lead this important preservation effort and are truly grateful to the Governor, the public funders, the myriad of pro-bono lawyers and our elected officials for their unwavering support to get us to this wonderful result. We are pleased to be able to do our small part to develop solutions to the affordability crisis the Commonwealth faces.”