Housing Authority Expands Number Of Rental Units

By MARY STANLEY
A waning economy and a sagging real estate market may be just what was needed to jump-start the affordable housing market in Sandwich.
At last night’s selectmen’s meeting Robert F. Simmons Jr., chairman of the board of commissioners for the Sandwich Housing Authority, told selectmen that his organization was able to acquire a home last month using community preservation funds approved for the purchase. He said the single-family, three-bedroom home in Forestdale will be rented out to an eligible family at a rate of $1,300 per month.
Mr. Simmons said the housing authority received money from the Community Preservation Act funds in both 2006 and 2007 but, to date, it had not been able to purchase a home at an affordable rate to rent. The Community Preservation Act was adopted several years ago and replaces the former Land Bank Act. The state matches the money collected from a three percent property tax surcharge and the money can be used to pay for such things as historic preservation, affordable housing, and recreation and open space.
The recent drop in the real estate market finally made it possible for the housing authority to be in a position to purchase a single-family home. Mr. Simmons said his organization is still looking at other homes in town and he hopes to purchase another one before the end of the year. 
“It’s a great investment that will go to a Sandwich family who needs a home,” he said.
While the new property will provide housing for one family in town, a second affordable housing development will offer 24 families a home.
Mr. Simmons told the board of selectmen that the Sandwich Housing Authority is at the very initial stages of a project that will triple the number of affordable rental units at the authority’s George Fernandes Way property on Quaker Meetinghouse Road. The authority is hoping to build 24 units on 10 acres, abutting the site of the existing dozen units. This new project calls for four one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom, and four three-bedroom townhouse units. There will be six buildings in total with four units per building.
“This is a very big project for us. The biggest attraction of this spot is that we already own the land. If we had to buy a parcel of land, we would not be able to do this,” Mr. Simmons said.
He estimated the cost of the project to be $7 million and said that he plans to request $1.8 million in CPA funds. The balance of the project funding, he said, would come from tax credit money and other state and federal housing programs. Tax credits are awarded from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
Mr. Simmons said the housing authority recently hired the services of Mark Slotnick, a consultant who works with housing authorities on projects like this.  Mr. Simmons said Mr. Slotnick will be invaluable when it comes to finding funding sources for the balance of the money that the housing authority needs. “There’s nobody in the state more knowledgeable than Mark,” said member of the housing authority’s board of commissioners H. Earl Lantery Jr.
Mr. Lantery admitted that a slow economy is a better time to complete projects such as this, since people working in the industry tend to tighten up their estimates.  “When the economy is good, they throw out a high number and, if they get the job, great— if not, they move on. When the economy is slow, they tend to sharpen their pencils,” Mr. Lantery said.
While the sluggish economy and downturn in real estate have positioned the housing authority to increase its number of units, Mr. Simmons said the list of people who need affordable housing is growing. More than 300 people are on the waiting list for housing through the Sandwich Housing Authority.
Mr. Lantery said he and other board members are hoping that by offering one-bedroom town home units in this new affordable housing development it will result in a more diverse demographic of people moving in. He said board members would like to see this development be a kind of community, where young families live alongside senior residents. 
The housing authority plans to submit an application to the community preservation committee at its next meeting in September. If that application is approved by the committee and approved by voters at a Special Town Meeting, the next step will be to request the state and federal money. Mr. Lantery said the homes could be ready for occupancy as early as 2010.