THE CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE PRESENTS PRIDE IN CONSTRUCTION  2008 PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD Boston, MA (December 19, 2008)  The Construction Institute presented the 2008 Pride in Construction Project of the Year Award to developer Trinity Financial at Venezia’s Waterfront Restaurant in Dorchester, December 17,  during their 10^th Anniversary Holiday luncheon. Trinity Financial was recognized for The Carruth in Dorchester.   “The awards program recognizes projects constructed in Massachusetts using union contractors and workers,’ says TCI Executive Director Mary Vogel.  “We are incredibly proud of Trinity Financial and the union contractors and workers who built The Carruth. It exemplifies the superior value, quality and integrity provided by union contractors and their skilled crafts men and women.”   The Carruth project transformed a blighted neighborhood parcel combining a $50 million private development investment with a new $40 million MBTA transit center and a series of additional City infrastructure improvements.  The building includes approximately 10,000 square feet of neighborhood retail services and 116 units of mixed income housing on a parcel that is directly adjacent to the Ashmont Peabody Square MBTA transit center.  CWC Builders was construction manager on the project.   All of the 74 rental units at The Carruth are affordable to households at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI).  In addition, 8 of the 74 units will be offered to households at or below 30% of the AMI and meet the City of Boston’s criteria for homelessness.  Trinity is proposing an 85-year term of affordability that will be co-terminus with the long-term ground lease with the MBTA.  The 42 condominium units are being sold and leased at market rates.    Vince Droser, who accepted the award on behalf of Trinity Financial’s President, Jim Keefe, says “The Carruth is one of the first true transit oriented projects in Boston and reflects Trinity Financial’s core commitment to revitalizing neighborhoods, strengthening commerce and fostering opportunity.” Droser, led the team of consultants in the design, permitting and construction of the project.   Financing for The Carruth came from numerous sources including Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Priority Development Funds; State Housing Tax Credits; State HOME funds; City HOME funds; Neighborhood Housing Trust funds; State Transit-Oriented Development Program funds; the Commercial Area Transit Node Housing Program through the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development; and Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust funds through a joint program established with MassHousing.   The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust provided $5.1 million in financing, which included a taxable construction loan in the amount of $2.6 million and a tax-exempt construction and permanent loan of $2.5 million.   All projects financed by the HIT must be constructed using 100% union labor.   “The labor movement is proud of its participation in the financing of The Carruth apartment project which created hundreds of union construction jobs,” said Stephen Coyle, Chief Executive Officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust.  “This model development supports neighborhood revitalization and creates mixed-income housing adjacent to public transit, a combination that makes sense for working families in America’s cities.”   The Carruth is LEED certifiable and includes a 40KW array of photovoltaic cells on the roof of the building that will be used to help lower the cost of the common area electric charges for the entire building.   The Construction Institute is dedicated to promoting quality construction and a skilled construction workforce in Massachusetts.   For more information contact: Christina Chatalian, The Construction Institute, 617/436-4159 or 315/558-8419