BEVERLY — The City of Beverly, Massachusetts has been awarded a Federal Fiscal Year 2025 Community Development Fund grant in the amount of $850,000 from the Massachusetts Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The funds will be utilized to initiate a Housing Rehabilitation Program for qualifying projects.
The Massachusetts CDBG Program is a federally funded, competitive grant program designed to help cities and towns meet a broad range of community development needs in housing, infrastructure, revitalization, economic development, and public social services. The funding is geared toward building viable local communities, particularly for people of low or moderate incomes.
The FFY 2025 CDBG awards, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC), helps small cities and towns undertake projects that benefit low and moderate income residents. The City of Beverly was one of 27 competitive Community Development Fund awards totaling $25.7 million, along with $7.75 million for nine Mini-Entitlement communities, for a combined $33.47 million in funding in 52 communities across Massachusetts.
The City of Beverly applied to the Community Development Fund Grant Program, an annual application, in April 2025. Community planning for this application included one public hearing, six small group stakeholder discussions, and community-wide online survey. A request for proposals process was held in Fall 2025 to select the housing rehabilitation program vendor.
“These funds will provide better insulation, windows, and doors for hard working Beverly residents,” said Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill. “As a result, their homes will become more energy efficient, keeping residents warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, and saving money on their energy bills.”
The Housing Rehabilitation Program will be executed through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of the North Shore to rehabilitate approximately 10-12 housing units and perform emergency repairs. It will provide low to moderate income residents with the opportunity to have safe, decent, sanitary housing and accessible and energy efficient conditions. Rehabilitation work to be performed on income-eligible properties will focus on critical home repairs to ensure safe and healthy properties. Projects may include:
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Compliance with the Massachusetts Sanitary Code Chapter II
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Abatement of lead-based paint and/or asbestos hazards
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Repair/replacement of major systems such as heat, electric, or plumbing
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Weatherization of units by upgrading insulation and window and door systems
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Structural repairs, and foundation repairs, and roof replacement
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Barrier removal and handicap accessibility to promote accessibility for disabled or elderly residents
Beverly residents who have projects that may qualify and believe they may be eligible according to income limits should contact Darlene Wynne, Director of Planning & Community Development.
Added Director Wynne, “thank you to the Massachusetts EOHLC for recognizing the need in Beverly and awarding us with the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on Beverly residents with this grant award. We look forward to restarting this important program and to continuing as a CDBG community and identifying additional programs to support the community in future years.”
The City has not received CDBG funding since the early 2000s, when the City of Beverly was last designated a CDBG mini-entitlement community. In October 2025, the City was notified that, starting in the next federal fiscal year, the City of Beverly will once again become a mini-entitlement community under the Massachusetts CDBG program. Despite this, the City must still apply for and receive approval from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) for each project it wishes to fund. A public hearing for the upcoming FFY26 application will be held on January 15, 2026 at 6 pm at Beverly City Hall.
