Arlington is excited to announce it has secured $5,850,000 for affordable housing, including a recent $3,500,000 grant through the state’s new MBTA Communities Catalyst Fund Program. This new funding source is available to communities that are compliant with the MBTA Communities Law, which requires any municipality served by the MBTA to zone for multi-family housing by-right in nearby areas. Arlington was one of the first communities to achieve compliance following approval at 2023 Special Town Meeting. The Town’s grant application was awarded to support the Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA) in its recent acquisition of 840 and 846 Mass Ave, and 17 Newman Way which are located within Arlington’s Multi-Family Housing Overlay districts. HCA’s project includes a proposal to develop approximately 35 additional units which is expected to result in an overall 92 new units of deed-restricted affordable housing at a site that currently has no deed-restricted affordable housing. The Arlington Affordable Housing Trust’s contribution of $2,350,000 was a critical component to the state’s substantial award.
“This latest grant is an excellent example of how our local Affordable Housing Trust dollars were leveraged to secure the larger state and federal funding needed for HCA to pursue an affordable housing project of this magnitude,” said Arlington’s Town Manager, Jim Feeney. “I want to commend the Department of Planning and Community Development and the Arlington Affordable Housing Trust for their efforts to support the Housing Corporation of Arlington’s project to bring desperately needed affordable housing to town.”
“This grant allows the Housing Corporation of Arlington to purchase the properties and put them on a path to deed-restricted affordable housing, greatly expanding the amount of affordable housing in Arlington, while protecting existing tenants from displacement due to high rents,” said Erica Schwarz, Executive Director of Housing Corporation of Arlington.
The acquisition, finalized on September 18th, includes two apartment buildings at 840 and 846 Mass Ave with 57 residential units, and an adjacent two-family at 17 Newman Way. Prior to the sale, none of the units were deed-restricted affordable, although many were considered naturally occurring affordable housing (or NOAH). NOAH units are typically older rental units with limited amenities that have rents low enough to be affordable to lower-income residents. Preserving NOAH costs significantly less than building new affordable housing but NOAH is extremely vulnerable to private investors for its redevelopment potential to become high-end market rate rentals or condominiums which can displace existing lower-income tenants.
The project received initial support from Arlington’s Affordable Housing Trust (AHT) through its Acquisition, Creation, and Conversion (ACC) Program, which was largely funded through a $3M earmark of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to create affordable housing, plus grants from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) Committee. The Trust committed $1,875,000 in ARPA funds and $475,000 in AHT funds to support HCA’s project. The ACC Program was developed by the Trust to support its Five-Year Action Plan goal to create or permit 100 additional affordable housing units and to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing units for the benefit of low- and moderate- income households. The Trust’s contribution of $2.35M is expected to result in 92 affordable housing units being created for, approximately, $25,500 per unit.
As part of its agreement with the Town and the Affordable Housing Trust, HCA will initially deed-restrict 8 units at 60% area median income (AMI) and 2 units at 100% AMI to existing income-qualified tenants. HCA expects that most, if not all, units will be deed-restricted to residents earning at or below 60% AMI within 5 years.
Public outreach regarding the development plans will occur in the coming months as HCA prepares its application for Site Plan Review to the Arlington Redevelopment Board. Abutters will be notified of the ARB public hearing. For more information on affordable housing in Arlington and the Trust, visit arlingtonma.gov/affordablehousing.
