Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces $4.7 Million in Housing Choice Grants for 31 Massachusetts Communities
CONTACT:
Kevin Connor, Kevin.Connor@mass.gov, 617-874-0126
Today, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus joined Wakefield Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio to announce 34 Housing Choice Grant Program awards in 31 communities across Massachusetts totaling $4,730,000, and to celebrate the 10 communities receiving a first-time Housing Choice Designation in 2023.
The Town of Wakefield is one of 10 municipalities newly designated as a Housing Choice Community and has received $79,000 to build a housing production plan to meet the needs of the town’s residents. Secretary Augustus and Administrator Maio were joined by Senator Jason Lewis, Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian, Wakefield City Councilors Michael McLane and Robert Vincent, and municipal leaders and planning officials from Housing Choice communities across the state.
The 31 entities being awarded today are: Ayer, Beverly, Billerica, Brockton, Brookline, Burlington, Chelsea, Easton, Hingham, Lawrence, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Mendon, Methuen, Middleborough, Provincetown, Quincy, Reading, Revere, the Sudbury Water District, Swampscott, Taunton, Upton, Wakefield, Walpole, Westborough, Westford, Weymouth, Worcester, and Wrentham.
“Housing production and preservation is a top priority for our administration,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We need to meet this moment by increasing housing production and lowering costs so people can continue to live, work, and build a future in Massachusetts. We’re proud of the work that these 31 communities are doing to help us meet our housing goals, and we’re grateful to the Legislature for making these funds available.”
“The Housing Choice Grant Program is a critical resource for municipalities who want to increase housing production to lower costs for residents,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “This funding will support projects that make our communities more affordable and livable and will make our state stronger as a whole.”
“I commend the 10 newly designated housing choice communities announced today for their commitment to housing production,” said Secretary Ed Augustus. “The administration’s Affordable Homes Act proposes an additional $30M of funding for the HousingWorks, Housing Choice Grant Program, ensuring that we can continue to reward the cities and towns that go above and beyond to meet the housing needs of their residents.”
The Housing Choice Initiative provides incentives, rewards, technical assistance, and targeted reform to encourage and empower municipalities to plan and build diverse housing options. Municipalities are deemed Housing Choice Communities after accomplishing 5 percent new housing growth over a 5-year period or 3 percent growth over a 5-year period with the adoption of housing policy best practices.
The 10 cities and towns that have been newly designated Housing Choice Communities in 2023 are: Bellingham, Brookline, Gloucester, North Reading, Revere, Scituate, Upton, Wakefield, Wellfleet, and Westborough. Communities that achieve the Housing Choice designation have exclusive access to apply for the Housing Choice Grant Program and receive bonus points or other considerations in nine other state grant programs including the MassWorks Infrastructure Program and the Clean Water Trust Fund.
“This is a very proud day for the Town and for me personally,” said Wakefield Town Administrator Stephen Maio. “Available, well-built, and affordable housing is critical for the vibrancy of our state and our local communities. And it’s hard to achieve. It seems to me that it is our job at the local level to create an atmosphere that fosters the ability to reach that goal. That is why I am incredibly proud and in a small way this designation is personal to me, and I certainly appreciate the $79,000 grant, which we will use to help build a new Housing Production Plan for the future of our Town. In 2015, Wakefield adopted an inclusionary zoning/mixed-use district and zoning bylaw contiguous to our commuter rail station. This zoning bylaw includes an 18 percent affordability component and has helped create (in conjunction with multifamily mixed-use and 40B developments) over 1,450 housing units (with 475 units or 32% affordable). This adoption followed a robust public process and achieved the necessary 2/3rds vote at an open town meeting. It paved the way for market-rate and affordable housing and helped create some wonderful businesses while supporting existing ones in our adjacent commercial districts. The process wasn’t easy but so worthwhile on the local level, and this designation we received on April 18th of this year as a Housing Choice Community is the icing on the cake.”
Since the first awards were distributed in 2018, the Housing Choice Initiative has provided over $27 million in grant dollars to support infrastructure improvements, housing production planning, technical assistance, and more. A full list of the FY24 Housing Choice awards with project details and grant totals can be found at this link.
Left to right: Town Administrator Stephen Maio, Town Councilor Robert E. Vincent II, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus, Town Council Vice Chair Michael J. McLane
State and local officials join with representatives from communities across the state to celebrate receiving Housing Choice Grants.