Holliston Hopes For HUD Money
Officials in Holliston plan to apply for up to $1 million in federal grant money for an affordable housing development near town hall in an effort to spur private investment in the community.
Mary Greendale, a former member of the Holliston Board of Selectmen and a former state official, is leading the charge for the town to apply for Community Development Block Grant funds for Cutler Heights, a 30-unit development that will house a mix of low- and moderate-income families.
The CDBG is a federal funding program that supports a wide variety of community-betterment initiatives targeted at low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Greendale said, to her knowledge, the town has never received CDBG funds.
"We're trying to put the horse in front of the cart here," Greendale said. "Instead of waiting until these units are built and the families have moved in, we're hoping to get the ball rolling on some of these programs while the construction is underway."
Seeds Of Development
And the success of the Cutler Heights development, she said, could help spur other investments in town.
Specifically, the former Andrews School on School Street has sat vacant for years. While some community groups may be interested in using the property, Greendale said a thriving Cutler Heights development could help attract other public or private dollars for the empty schoolhouse.
"This is a big project for a little town," said Brenda Farrell, executive director of the Holliston Housing Authority, which is leasing the land to a group of investors who are building the apartments. She said the CDBG funds could help install a computer room for the residents, or a playground at the site. Overall, they would help make the development a success.
"Any kind of improvements we can make would be beneficial, not just for the residents who will live there, but the entire town," she said.
CDBG funds can be used for a range of activities, from rehabilitation of properties to code enforcement, demolition, conservation of land, aid for nonprofit organizations and technical assistances for residences. While 36 communities in the state automatically receive annual installments of CDBG funds, other communities can participate in a competitive application process for the funds.
The CDBG program has a $1 million maximum limit for the amount of funds non-entitlement communities can apply for and Greendale said she hopes to work with community leaders in the coming weeks to determine exactly how much the town will request.
There is about $36 million available to non-entitlement communities as part of the CDBG program this year, according to a HUD official.
The grants are normally awarded in the spring.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments