SUNDERLAND — The Select Board has decided to enter negotiations with a nonprofit developer to build 34 affordable senior housing residences at 120 North Main St., the next step in bringing the affordable senior housing project to town.
Town Administrator Sherry Patch said Tuesday “the board voted unanimously to accept the proposal as recommended by the 120 North Main St. Advisory Committee, and to enter into negotiations with (Rural Development Inc.)” at Monday night’s meeting.
Valley Community Development Corp., another nonprofit organization, is a partner with Rural Development Inc., which was created by the Franklin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority in 1991.
Patch noted there are a number of steps Rural Development Inc. and the Valley CDC must take before the project becomes a reality, including securing financing. Patch added, “For now, we’re excited and hopeful.”
“We have to negotiate an agreement with the town for the purchase of the land,” Rural Development Inc. Executive Director Frances Pheeny said about what those next steps will be.
“Simultaneously, now that we’ve been officially selected as developer, we’re going to put an application into the Community Preservation Act committee asking for a grant to help with the development.”
At the same time, Pheeny said the organization will begin looking for state money from grants and low-income housing tax credits. Generally speaking, Pheeny said, application deadlines are about a year away.
Based on preliminary designs, the three-story development will have 34 residences in a two-wing building on 2.8 town-owned acres. Units are outlined as one- or two-bedroom.
The proposed development includes 54 parking spaces along a single roadway, shaded by 55 trees. Along with a common area, the proposal features a patio and deck, a library, a community garden and outdoor seating.
If built, its 34 residences would count toward the town’s affordable housing quota, as outlined in Mass. General Law Chapter 40B, which requires towns to have more than 10 percent affordable housing to avoid certain regulations. As of 2014, 0.5 percent of housing in town was listed as affordable.
“Affordable,” under the state’s definition, means that housing shouldn’t cost more than 30 percent of the householders’ gross monthly income.
“There’s a real need for housing for seniors in the county, and we know we have an ever growing population in the county. A lot of seniors need housing that’s appropriate for them so they can age in place,” Pheeny said.