By Jim O'Sullivan

Pointing the finger at the state and federal government for not doing their share, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino launched a pilot program Monday aimed at providing affordable three-decker rental and ownership opportunities.

The initiative, titled Three Decker Plus, offers a $20,000 purchase subsidy and closing cost assistance from the city and Fleet Boston, and builds on an 11-year-old "soft second mortgage" program, thanks to a $20 million commitment from Fleet.

At a press conference near the top of Welling-ton Hill in Mattapan, in front of the three decker home of the Pittman family, Menino, Housing Chief Charlotte Golar Richie, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) official Florence Hagins, and FleetBoston CEO Chad Gifford outlined the motivation behind the program, as well as the nuts and bolts.

The program benefits first-time Boston resident homebuyers with an income under 80 percent of the area median income who are seeking to buy a three-unit residential property in the city. The owner must live in the building and agree to sell or rent one unit at an affordable rate to a tenant of low to moderate income for 20 years. In addition, the buyer must complete a homebuyer and homeowner class.

In return, the buyer also receives a reduced interest rates, with title searches, attorney fees, taxes, and insurance, according to Hagins.

"When they were first built, they were not necessarily the most popular housing stock around," Richie said. "Now we have seen, over the decades, the growing popularity of three deckers, but we have also seen the price rise."

"That's why we're working so hard to make sure our families are not priced out of their homes and the neighborhoods that they love," Menino said. "What this really means is you don't have to be a millionaire to buy a three-decker in our city."

"We'll continue to make progress," Menino continued. "We won't make the progress that some people expect, because we don't have the partners. The federal government is not there. The state legislature is not there like it should be. We need creative and innovative programs to make it work."

According to Bill Cotter, deputy director of the city's homebuyer assistance team, the initial effort will provide for 50 properties, then will be evaluated.

"It's so new and different, we're going to see how it goes," Cotter told the Reporter. "We'll evaluate the properties and we'll see how we go forward and how it works.

"Basically, this combines an effort to provide affordable home ownership opportunities with our effort to provide affordable rental opportunities."

The mayor's office counts 16,000 three deckers in the city, comprising 25 percent of one-to-three family housing stock. Both Menino and Richie noted that the three decker is a particular Boston breed.

"Three deckers are unique to Boston," Menino said. "You can't build three deckers anymore because of all the regulations now."

But an increase of housing stock is just what some people think is needed to solve what is referred to widely as a "housing crisis."

"This might help a lot of people, but I wonder where all those two- or three-family homes are going to be built," said Mabel Graham, a Mattapan housing activist.

Tom Callahan, director of MAHA, said, "I think [the initiative] will be very effective," adding that the enhancement of the second soft mortgage campaign is a strong foundation.

But, Callahan added, "We need to build more stock, ultimately. This program doesn't do that, obviously, but that's really where we need to make more progress."

Callahan pointed out that 300 people compete for each lottery spot for an affordable housing unit. "That shows there's an undersupply of units coming along as affordable housing," he said.

Three Decker Plus is the latest addition to Menino's "Leading the Way" housing campaign, a three-year plan unveiled in 2000. Affordable housing has been a focal point of the Menino administration. Hagins, who received the first soft second mortgage in 1991, for a house on Downer Ave., estimates that the soft second mortgage program has helped 2,300 Boston families.