Grant Applications Bidding and Procurement Project Management Grant Administration Contract compliance
Contact:
Thomas Butler, former Town Administrator (retired) 781-246-2167 (Home)
Conversion of former Warren School to Wakefield Senior Center
TOWN OF MILLVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS
CDBG Funded Affordable Housing Development
Community Opportunities Group, Inc. had been working with the Town of Millville since 1999 on various Community Development Block Grant initiatives when the opportunity arose to develop a town-owned parcel as affordable housing. The parcel, which had been taken for back taxes, included a partially-constructed, abandoned six-unit residential structure on the site. Millville, a small town in the Blackstone Valley, had very little affordable housing, and no public water or sewer systems.
The Board of Selectmen engaged COG to assist the town with the disposal of the property and facilitate its redevelopment as affordable housing. COG initially obtained Massachusetts Housing Partnership pre-development funds to retain a technical building consultant to assess the redevelopment potential of the existing, unfinished building. Because of moisture penetration, the study recommended that the existing structure be razed, since the elements had wrecked havoc on it for over a decade. COG prepared a developer’s packet and solicited development proposals for the property.
Once a developer was selected, COG assisted the Town in applying for CDBG Housing Development Support Program funding to write down the development costs for the six-unit rental project, and subsequently administered the awarded grant funds. As part of this work, COG staff coordinated the conveyance of the property from the Town to the Developer and drafted the Affordable Housing Restriction.
After determining that the proposed project would need a zoning variance, COG worked with the Town and the developer to apply for a LIP Comprehensive Permit. Due to lot size constraints, we also helped with the groundwork to secure additional septic “credit” rights on adjacent town-owned land in order to obtain Title V septic approvals for the development.
As part of the grant administration, COG oversaw the lottery process for initial rent-up of the six two-bedroom apartments, and reviewed the initial renters’ incomes for compliance with affordability restrictions.
Community Opportunities Group, Inc. had been working with the Town of Millville since 1999 on various Community Development Block Grant initiatives when the opportunity arose to develop a town-owned parcel as affordable housing. The parcel, which had been taken for back taxes, included a partially-constructed, abandoned six-unit residential structure on the site. Millville, a small town in the Blackstone Valley, had very little affordable housing, and no public water or sewer systems.