Housing project eligibility restricted, to help Provincetown obtain aid
“PROVINCETOWN − In a bid to harness more federal money, the Select Board on Tuesday unanimously endorsed a downward adjustment to the income limits for people who would rent apartments at an affordable housing complex planned for the former VFW site at 3 Jerome Smith Road.
The adjustment would mean that the developer,
The Community Builders, can tap into more federal money to build the project under the auspices of the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
But higher-income residents will have to look elsewhere for housing.
The project will now include 13 units at 30% area median income (AMI), 32 units at 60% AMI, 16 workforce units at 80% AMI, and four units at market-rate or unrestricted. Instead of setting the AMI for the workforce units at 80 to 120%, as originally planned, developers have decided to cap those apartments at 80%.
"For me, while the proposed mix is not ideal, I would rather see us go with the proposed mix and use our funds that we have in the town coming in to leverage them into another project that will garner more units," said Select Board Chairman David Abramson during the Jan. 17 meeting.
Why was the change made to the income levels?
Capping the workforce units at 80% allows for those to be counted as
low-income housing tax credits units and garner significant additional federal subsidy. Allowing for more access to federal funds subsequently reduces the amount the state would kick in to a level that is more likely to win funding
without increasing Provincetown's contribution of $3 million, said Lindsey Gael, senior development project manager at The Community Builders, during a special Select Board meeting…”
https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/...te-provincetown-adjusted-bid-aid/69818852007/