GLOUCESTER, MA — Larry Oaks, chairperson of the appointees who steward Gloucester’s Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) fund, has announced that the Trust is poised to launch its ARPA-Funded Affordable Housing Initiative (AAHI) in the new year. The goal is to commit the $1.5 million in federal relief funding designated by Mayor Greg Verga for the Trust, before the end of 2024 to support projects that promise to mitigate Gloucester’s affordable housing crisis.
Through AAHI, the Trust will direct this funding to projects that reflect the priorities and concerns the community raised in 2022 during the City’s ARPA listening sessions. The deadline for the Trust to recommend the allocation of the $1.5M on behalf of the City is December 31, 2024. The Trust is currently finalizing its Guidelines and Application Package for release in January.
According to Oaks, the funding will support the creation of well over 100 units of housing that respect and honor Gloucester’s values as a community. The AHT’s stated preference for the program is proposals that provide housing for current residents of Gloucester (to the maximum extent allowed by federal and state law).
“We are amidst a focused effort to design and launch this new Trust-sponsored funding program that will go live in a months’ time,” says Oaks, a Gloucester resident who was appointed in August. “The rules of the road will be on the internet for the public to see and understand. This reinvigoration of the Trust will create a program that will be well-publicized, public-facing, easy to understand and transparent.”
The ARPA-Funded Affordable Housing Initiative will feature an online application with instructions on the City website and will include a methodology for rating and ranking applicants. The criteria for ranking potential projects will reflect Gloucester’s values as a community with regard to housing and development. Factors like whether the project seeking funding features affordable housing (and at what level), is located near a train station/neighborhood amenities, or has a sustainable design element will be considerations in scoring
“The development community will have the same information available to them, so that they can plan their projects and understand that there’s potentially support for them from the Trust,” says Oaks, who serves as President and CEO of Newton-based Mainstay Supportive Housing and Homecare. “We will implement good, common sense criteria to make it really clear how we’re going to make our funding decisions. If you can’t demonstrate that you meet the criteria in the funding program, you’re not going to get funded.”
Oaks expanded on what the Trust believes to be common sense considerations with examples like the reuse of an existing building or the use of a vacant lot as opposed to clearcutting to make way for sprawl, the inclusion of other public funding to amplify any AAHI funding from the Trust and projects that are viable and ready to proceed. Organizations seeking funding will be able to score their chances of receiving Trust dollars based on AAHI criteria even before they submit their application.
Long-time Cape Ann Savings Bank President Bob Gillis, now retired, is also a new appointee to Gloucester’s Affordable Housing Trust. An advocate for making housing more affordable in Gloucester for more than three decades, Gillis believes AAHI can become a lasting piece of the puzzle in tackling a much wider housing crisis in the City.
“We have this great opportunity with the $1.5 million designated by the Mayor from ARPA to make real changes that help those that need the most assistance in our community,” he says. “These are the people who are taking care of our seniors, taking care of our children, teachers, crop-growers, people who serve us at restaurants. These are the folks who need decent, affordable housing, and that’s why I’m involved.”
Current members of the Affordable Housing Trust’s members are: Oaks, Vice Chair Heather Dagle, Gillis, Deanna Faye, Ruth Pino, Mary Jane Boylan, Chris McCarthy, Community Development Director David Fields, and Mayor Greg Verga, who is a voting member.
“Our goal is to properly plan and make a difference,” says Gillis. “We want to demonstrate that we’re capable of making funding commitments that change things for the better, and then, we hope to grow the Trust-sponsored funding program into an enduring, financially viable tool. It’s not going to solve our affordable housing crisis, but it will help.”
The Affordable Housing Trust recently completed a strategic planning process with the consulting support of JM Goldson Community Preservation and Planning. Residents can view the AHT’s Strategic Plan by visiting: https://bit.ly/45SCCJD. AHT meetings are open to the public and are typically held monthly on Monday evenings. Meeting details are posted 48 hours in advance under Public Notices on the City’s website. Currently, all meetings are being conducted virtually.
Visit the City of Gloucester’s Affordable Housing Trust website here to find out more: https://gloucester-ma.gov/129/
