A capital budget set to be unveiled by Gov. Charlie Baker later this month will include a large investment aimed at the need for affordable housing options in Massachusetts.
Speaking to a room of housing developers from across the country Monday, Baker announced that $1.1 billion will be devoted over the next five years to spurring construction of new housing units, support for local public housing authorities, and to “preserve at-risk affordable housing” options for low-income families and individuals.
“A significant amount of privately owned affordable housing is at risk as subsidized mortgages and affordability restrictions expire. These properties are vital for low income working families, especially in the Greater Boston area, where the market pressures on traditional affordable housing are already significant and in the midst of a housing affordability crunch,” Baker said at the Urban Land Institute’s Housing Opportunity 2016 Conference.
Baker said there is around 3,000 affordable units in danger of expiring between now and 2020 and estimated that the new programs will preserve or create roughly 5,000 new units over the course of the plan.
The administration’s housing plan calls for $50 million in new funding to preserve privately-owned affordable housing units, $25 million for the development of supportive housing for homeless families and individuals with disabilities, $34 million for mixed-income housing developments, $25.5 million for preservation and redevelopment of local public housing communities, and $14 million for “small-scale” community-based affordable housing.
