Baker, Morse break ground on housing development

Sept. 10, 2019 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

Gov. Charlie Baker talks about the importance of adding new housing to communities across the state.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen

HOLYOKE – Gov. Charlie Baker joined Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse on Sept. 5 at a housing development groundbreaking to promote his administration’s “Housing Choice” legislation.

“Lots of people who want to live here,” Baker said of Massachusetts. “To make it possible we have to produce a lot more housing.”

Housing Choice would change the approval requirement for new housing from two-thirds of voters to a simple majority. Baker said Housing Choice gives communities the ability to move forward on housing projects if the majority of residents are in favor. Currently, Baker said, “where more than half the people in a town meeting affirm that housing project – that’s a no vote.

“Everybody acknowledges that we have a housing problem,” Baker said, noting only 10,000 to 12,000 new homes are added in the state each year, a fraction of the 135,000 his administration is aiming for.

The construction at Holyoke Farms, part of the Whiting Farms neighborhood of Holyoke, is a collaboration between the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, the city of Holyoke, the Whiting Farms Tenant Association (WFTA), and MassHousing, which provided a $12.2 million permanent loan and a $9.9 million bridge loan financing. Baker said the project was “another great example of a public/private partnership.” The investment in the project totals $46 million.

“This has been a neighborhood in Holyoke for generations,” Morse told Reminder Publishing. “To have a 40 million dollar investment here, it helps maintain affordable housing.” Morse later shared with the crowd of residents and officials that his parents had met at Holyoke Farms as teenagers.

Holyoke Farms will be adding a low-rise, accessible building that consists of 12 one-bedroom units. The building will also house a tenant community room.

The project will increase the total number of units to 229. Of those, 191 will be affordable units, with eight reserved for households earning below 30 percent of the area median income.

The existing 217 two- and three-bedroom townhouse-style units will undergo significant renovations, including system efficiency upgrades, new bathrooms, and flooring. The exterior renovations consist of new front stoops, patios, fencing, and landscaping.

“We made a commitment back in 2012,” Morse said. “You deserve to stay in the neighborhood – to make sure no one is displaced.” He said he wanted to make sure that they don’t leave their neighborhoods or, more importantly, the city.

Morse spoke about the community at Holyoke Farms, saying he saw them, “oftentimes turning struggles into hope and opportunity.” Community, he said, is very important to the residents of Holyoke Farms.

Carmen Sanchez has lived in the neighborhood for 21 years. Her children were in middle school when she moved to the area and now her daughter and grandchildren live in nearby. She said she wouldn’t want to move because the neighborhood is convenient, and she likes the sense of community with her neighbors. Sonia Vadillo, president of the WFTA, agreed.

“You tend to stay [because] you like the community. It’s a nice place to live,” Vadillo said.

Some residents are empty-nesters who no longer meet the requirements for their multi-bedroom units. Vadillo said the new one-bedroom apartments allow them to stay in the neighborhood.

Morse said, “not only does this project provide accessible housing for long-term tenants to age in place, [the tenant community room is] a valuable community meeting space for the city of Holyoke.” Morse thanked City Counselors Todd McGee, Peter Tallman, Michael Sullivan, state Rep. Aaron Vega, and state Sen. Donald Humason for their work on moving the project forward.

Baker said investing in a community’s housing would “create the framework for the next 40 years,” whereas the lack of housing would “choke off the ability of local communities to reimagine their housing stock and their community.”

The governor laid out the importance of housing in creating municipalities in which people can “live, work, play.” He spoke about the focus of community development shifting to a structure in which people can walk to amenities and jobs.

Lt. Gov. Karen Polito said on Sept. 4 that the administration wants lawmakers to vote on this legislation by Thanksgiving. Asked if the timeline was realistic, Baker said, “We’ve been debating this for the past two years.” The idea, he said, is to have the legislation passed by the end of the calendar year so that it will be on the books when town meetings are held in the spring.

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