AMHERST DESIGNATED A HOUSING CHOICE COMMUNITY
Photo: amherstma.gov
Source: amherstma.gov
Amherst has again been named as one of 56 municipalities in Massachusetts to receive a Housing Choice Community (HCC) designation. Eight other communities were newly added to the list. This designation recognizes and rewards Amherst for its commitment to building and encouraging new housing production.
The HCC program is designed to recognize communities that have made substantial progress towards housing development goals and for the implementation of housing best practices to encourage sustainable development. The Housing Choice Designation is part of a strategy to produce 135,000 new housing units by 2025 in order to meet the high demand of housing across the state.
Nate Malloy, Senior Planner for the Town of Amherst said “The Town of Amherst qualified as a HCC because we have permitted over 500 new housing units in the past five years and we have made efforts to increase affordable housing, such as a SHI percentage over 10% and permitting affordable units. We have also used local funds such as Community Preservation Act and tax incentives to support affordable housing in our community.”
Between 2015 and 2019, this year’s 64 Housing Choice Communities built 73 percent of all new housing units in Massachusetts. This designation will provide Amherst access to an exclusive, competitive capital grant program, and points on applications to nine other state capital grants, including MassWorks, MassDOT Complete Streets, EEA Community Investment Grants, and more.