It took nearly a decade, but a large, mixed-income housing development in Agawam will welcome its first tenants in the coming weeks. The project comes as the region, and Agawam itself, deals with affordable housing shortages.
It was 2016 when Way Finders, then known as HAP Housing, acquired acres of vacant farm land off of Mill Street, down the road from the high school and in Agawam’s Feeding Hills section.
The plan: construct a series of town homes totaling 62 units, made up of affordable, workforce housing and market-rate apartments.
A pandemic, ballooning costs and a lengthy approval process later, officials marked its completion Friday, including Keith Fairey, president and CEO of Way Finders.
“We are in the midst of a big housing challenge here, not only in the Commonwealth, but in our country, and projects like this, Rosewood Way, and many others across the region and across the Commonwealth and across the country, are part of the solution,” he said. “In fact, they are the solution.”
Standing before 10 two-story town homes that make up Rosewood Way, Fairey and Agawam leaders took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, ahead of the first tenants moving in.
Totaling $28 million, including $21 million in construction costs, the homes include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as a community building.
Mark Teden, vice president of multifamily programs at MassHousing, says the project made use of at least 13 different funding sources. MassHousing itself announced last year it kicked in $5.2 million in financing for the project.
It also comes at a time when the state continues to deal with a housing shortage, making projects and collaborations like Rosewood essential, according to Hampden and Hampshire state Senator John Velis.
“There is no way we get out of this housing crisis if we don't do things like we're doing here today,” the Democrat said. “Local officials, state officials, federal officials, the private sector, nonprofits - everyone coming together … if you are operating in separate silos in any of those areas, in 2024, you are going to implode.”
In terms of timelines, the pandemic didn’t help, nor did the rising costs of construction materials. The project also drew objections from locals, including those neighboring the property.
A “Save Mill Street” campaign and petition emerged at one point, with some residents voicing concern over potential increases in traffic on the already busy roadway.
But with Agawam lacking in affordable units –– the development advanced as a 40B project. As such, it could take advantage of state rules that smooth the way for affordable housing projects in communities where less than 10 percent of housing stock is affordable.
A recent city “Housing Production Plan” stated only 4.5 percent of Agawam’s “year-round housing stock” is considered affordable. The 2023-24 plan also states Agawam, home to over 28,000 residents, was looking to “produce 62 units of affordable housing per year” to address the situation.
“[Rosewood] is the first affordable housing project in Agawam since Pheasant Hill in Feeding Hills, which I think was built in the 80s,” Agawam City Councilor Thomas Hendrickson told WAMC, something Mayor Christopher Johnson also pointed out during Friday’s ceremony. “I think it's been about 30 or 40 years since we've done one of these things.”
“It's very important for our community that we provide people with affordable places to live,” he added. “Last I heard, I think it was about 700 households in Agawam that are considered ‘at-risk,’ in terms of their housing, that spend more than half their household income on housing. And so, we've got hundreds of families here in Agawam that are in need of an affordable place to live.”
Fairey, with Way Finders, tells WAMC move-ins are expected to begin “within the month,” with a number of apartment applications accepted and leases being signed.
