By Michael J. Rausch, The Bourne Enterprise
Bourne, which has the largest percentage of affordable housing units compared to market-rate homes of any town on the Upper Cape, recently celebrated the construction of another 44 affordable units.
The latest additions are townhouse units in the development known as High Meadow Townhomes in Monument Beach. It is the third and final piece of a development roughly 10 years in the making.
The High Meadow Townhomes development is just off Clay Pond Road. It consists of 44 two- and three-bedroom townhouses for families and seniors. It is one-third of the development that started with the Residences at Canal Bluffs, 28 affordable apartments that opened in 2009. That was followed by Clay Pond Cove, 45 individual, family and senior affordable apartments which opened in 2012.
With the addition of High Meadow Townhomes, Bourne now has 641 units in its inventory of affordable homes. Town Planner Coreen V. Moore said that brings Bourne’s total affordable homes percentage to 7.4. The state has set a goal of 10 percent for Massachusetts cities and towns. Bourne has the highest percentage of affordable units on the Upper Cape and is third behind Orleans and Barnstable across the Cape, she said.
Local and state officials took part in a grand opening, ribbon-cutting ceremony at the development on October 5. Among the attendees were US Congressman William R. Keating (D-MA 9th District), state Senator Viriato M. (Vinny) deMacedo (R-Plymouth), and state Representative Randy Hunt (R-Sandwich).
“There is nothing more important than being able to provide someone with a roof over their head and a safe and a warm place to go that is affordable,” Senator deMacedo said.
Congressman Keating noted the great need on Cape Cod for affordable housing, particularly for younger people who are getting started on their careers.
“There’s a great need for people who fill out a whole demographic pool—younger people, people who are starting families, people that we need to meet the job needs we have in this area and grow our economy forward,” he said.
Groundbreaking on High Meadow Townhomes occurred in July of last year and culminated with the ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 5. The three-phased project was a collaborative effort between Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) and Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).
HAC reported it received more than 200 applications for the 44 units at High Meadow last summer. Tenants are expected to begin moving into their townhomes next month, HAC officials said.
JANEY, Inc. of Boston served as the general contractor for the $14.1 million project. Funding was provided with $7.6 million in low-income housing tax credit from Boston Capital, as well as a $3.3 million loan from MassHousing. Additional funding was provided by Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Barnstable County HOME Consortium, Rockland Trust, and MassHousing’s Opportunity Fund.
Continue reading on CapeNews.net