In downtown Pittsfield, Healey said the tranche of state funding for new housing will come in the form of low-income housing tax credits and subsidies.
“We're investing $140 million across a total of 15 projects in Massachusetts that will produce 1,000 affordable rental units that's going to make a difference in places like Pittsfield and elsewhere," said the governor. "We're partnering here with Hearthway and the city of Pittsfield on the Linden Street Apartments, 47 affordable units just what, half a mile north of here.”
The first-term Democrat, who is seeking reelection this year, also used the rare appearance in the Berkshires to simultaneously announce new tax credits for converting unused commercial space into housing, including the building at 24-34 North Street in Downtown Pittsfield hosting Tuesday’s press conference.
“This is a new strategy for our administration," said Healey. "You know, when we started, we looked around and there were just too many vacant buildings. We had office space that wasn't being used, we had mill space in some instances, we've just got buildings — buildings, by the way, with beautiful bones, beautiful structure — that just needed a little focus and attention. And what better use for them than to create housing?”
Healey has identified addressing the Massachusetts housing crisis as one of her administration’s top priorities and has set a goal to make up a deficit of 220,000 units by 2035. In Berkshire County, the lack of housing stock amid inflation and stagnant wages has seen rents and the price of homes skyrocket at every level of the market.
Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus said the approach aims to have a broader holistic impact on communities like Pittsfield.
“This building is an example of that," he said. "You're going to take a building that has been empty for a number of years, you're going to turn it into units of housing and some commercial space, and the people who live here are going to go across the street to the Beacon Cinema and see a movie, and then they're going to have something to eat or grab a coffee after, or walk and support the shops and the restaurants, and bringing back a vitality and energy to the streets and to this building. And each project adds to that momentum for downtown Pittsfield, and many of the projects that we're going to be announcing today do that for their communities as well.”
The tax credits backing the reclamation of commercial buildings into housing amount to around $8.4 million through the Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative, and will also support other projects in Western Massachusetts, including in Lenox, Greenfield, and Easthampton.
Augustus broke down how his office is funding 15 rental developments across the commonwealth, including the aforementioned Linden Street Apartments in Pittsfield on the former site of the Polish Community Club.
“Together, they total over 1,000 new units, which include 900 affordable units, with nearly 300 of those units which will be for people with extremely low incomes, including families transitioning out of homelessness," said the secretary. "HLC is helping to fund these homes through $25.7 million in federal low-income housing tax credits, $32.4 million in state low-income housing tax credits and $81.4 million in subsidies.”
Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti, a Democrat, told WAMC that the Healey administration’s housing plan is part and parcel with his administration’s goals.
“We all know that a private developer the city or the commonwealth can't do this alone, and we know how to develop the partnerships," he said. "We continue to say that housing is a priority of our administration, and I think that we continue to push every housing project that we can forward. So, I just think that this is another step and a long process of rehabilitating housing in Pittsfield.”
Healey is widely expected to easily secure her party’s endorsement in her run for a second four-year term.
Republicans vying for the governor’s seat in this year’s primary include Mike Kennealy, Brian Shortsleeve, Aaron Packard, and Michael Minogue.
