The Fitchburg Housing Authority is proposing a 13,000-square-foot community center and administrative office building to support one of the city’s low-income communities.
The housing authority submitted its site plan Feb. 9 to build Green Acres Community Center & Administration Offices at 1 Normandy Road, according to the organization’s application.
Green Acres would include a community room and will host special events. The facility will host before- and after-school daycare for students in kindergarten through sixth grade and will be equipped with a community education classroom and Fitchburg Public Library micro-branch.
The Fitchburg Planning Board reviewed FHA’s application at its Feb. 24 and March 24 meetings. The proposal is still under review.
The building would house 20 FHA employees in executive leadership, housing services, and finance roles. Those employees are currently spread across six buildings, which would be converted back into housing units once the project is complete, said Executive Director Douglas Bushman.
Fitchburg’s Green Acres residential community has one of the highest concentrations of poverty in the Twin Cities area, he said.
“We want to break the cycle of poverty at Green Acres,” Bushman said at the Feb. 24 meeting.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
