Standing in Gloucester City Hall’s Kyrouz Auditorium where the motto “Build not for today alone but for tomorrow as well” dominates a mural above the stage, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced funding for projects statewide meant to build supportive housing for tomorrow.
“With this $46 million announcement we are going to be able to support seven supportive housing developments across the commonwealth,” the former long-time mayor of Salem said.
The projects will receive $7.4 million in low-income housing tax credits and $38.5 million in subsidy funds for a total $46 million, according to the the Healey-Driscoll administration.
In Gloucester, the funding will expand the number of units to 29 and services at the historic Pattillo building at 67 Middle St. owned by the YMCA of the North Shore and operated as supportive housing for individuals, in some cases transitioning from homelessness.
Gloucester native Chris Lovasco, CEO of the YMCA of the North Shore, said the organization has just over 320 units of affordable housing in Essex County. Another 44 units of senior affordable housing are being constructed adjacent to the Pattillo Building on Middle Street, within a block of City Hall.
The Pattillo building is special because it’s the very first affordable housing project the YMCA of the North Shore created 30 years ago. The project was state-of-the-art at the time with small rooms, shared bathrooms and a common kitchen on each floor for 21 people and was something to be proud of, Lovasco said. But over time, the rooms “have become difficult to manage.”
“And to now imagine all of those people are going to have their own studio apartment, their own space, the dignity of ownership, we could not be more proud to add another 30% to that unit.”
It’s expected the $16 million project would start construction in early 2025.
The administration is supporting similar projects in Lowell, Quincy, Revere, Rowley, Somerville and South Boston, Driscoll said.
“In all we will have deeply affordable housing for 280 units in those many communities and that’s really going to change people’s lives, when you think about having a place that is not only safe and accessible but also builds in the type of services that you may need,” she said.
In speaking about the need for affordable housing in Gloucester, state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, said if it was not for the intergenerational pass down of homes in the city, “a lot of the people who you see in Gloucester wouldn’t be in Gloucester” because they could not afford to start all over again with a median home sale price of $800,000 to $900,000.
This month, the Healey-Driscoll administration has been putting a big push on housing, Driscoll said, but the topic is top of mind wherever the governor and she go.
“The No. 1 issue on people’s minds is housing,” she said, “the high cost of housing, the unavailability of housing, whether you are a young adult, a working family, a senior … or somebody who is really very vulnerable, there isn’t enough housing to meet any demand in any category.”
More affordable housing is critical to keeping young adults from moving out of state.
The push for housing has taken on many forms, including the MBTA Communities law adopted under the last administration but which the present administration is implementing “trying to really partner with communities to identify ways they can properly zone for the type of housing we know we need,” Driscoll said
The administration is pushing for the $4.1 billion Affordable Homes Act housing bond bill as another key to building housing at every level.
“The state doesn’t build housing,” she said. “We rely on you to build housing, public sector partners in our municipalities to build housing, and we are committed to trying to be the best partner you can have to deliver more affordable homes with supportive service so residents can stay here in their communities, in their beloved communities that they help build as part of that funding program.”
“We are excited today to support a number of new projects in our supportive housing round,” Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus said. “This really is a best practice.
“It’s one thing to try and provide housing to folks, that’s always been core and fundamental, but for many of our populations it’s not enough to just provide housing … It’s those supportive services that are critical to allowing them to stay re-housed and then to ultimately thrive and be successful.”
In addition to the Gloucester project, the funding will support eight two- and three-bedroom units and supportive services for families in Lowell; 34 studios with supportive services for homeless individuals in Quincy; 36 affordable one-bedroom units and supportive services for seniors in South Boston; 56 units with supportive services for families in Revere; 21 bedroom units with supportive services for seniors in Rowley; and 97 units of senior housing with supportive services in Somerville, Augustus said.
The Rowley project, a joint venture with the Cusack family, is called Windward Crossing, which is a planned new construction project located on Route 1 across from Market Basket, said Kristin Carlson, director of real estate development at the nonprofit Harborlight Homes in Beverly.
The project will be mixed use, and the component that was funded Monday would be 20 one-bedroom units of affordable senior supportive housing. Other components of the site will include a state Department of Developmental Services group home, a community center and some private condominiums.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at [email protected].
By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer
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