NORTHAMPTON — More than $1.19 million dollars in Community Preservation Act funds have been approved for various projects throughout the city, from improvements to basketball and tennis courts to affordable housing projects.

A plan to replace and rehabilitate six tennis courts and one basketball court at JFK Middle School was the largest of all individual appropriations, receiving $402,000 as part of the CPA financial orders that were approved by the City Council on Jan. 2.

“The courts at JFK Middle School were constructed in 1996, which doesn't sound like that long ago to me, but it's coming up on three decades and that is beyond the useful life of a tennis or basketball court,” said Planning & Sustainability Assistant Director Sarah LaValley during the council’s Dec. 19 meeting, when the grants were first read and introduced to the council. “Maintenance and repairs have allowed the courts to exceed their life expectancy but now they're really getting to the point where they need to be replaced.”

Several grants had affordable housing as the focus. A $200,000 CPA grant was awarded to Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity to create four affordable homes on Cooke Avenue. Another $126,760 grant was given to Valley Community Development for a mortgage subsidy program that would provide direct down payment assistance for two people earning less than 100% of the city’s median income to afford a home in Northampton. And $75,000 was appropriated for the city’s Affordable Housing Fund.

The planned Habitat for Humanity homes are to be built on the former Moose Lodge off of Cooke Avenue, a location that previously served as a homeless encampment until it was cleared out by the city in October.

City Councilor Stanley Moulton, who represents Ward 1, where the proposed development would be built, spoke of his approval for the new affordable homes during a Dec. 19 meeting.

“It's a great spot for affordable housing, being close to shopping, close to transportation, and particularly close to conservation land,” Moulton said. “I enthusiastically endorse this and I believe it will be well received in the neighborhood.”

Also receiving $202,000 was Grow Food Northampton for a new pavilion for its community farms at 140 Meadow St. The planned pavilion is meant to provide shade and shelter to users of the garden, as well as a hub for programming and activities at the garden, according to the financial order.

“The pavilion project, which includes a walking path with opportunities for food foraging and ‘pick-your-own’ orchard, will allow Grow Food Northampton to expand its educational offerings,” LaValley said during the first reading. “One of the drawbacks of the community gardens is that when it's really hot out, there's not a lot of places to cool off and chat with people, and this will really fulfill that need.”

CPA funds are generated through a surcharge on property tax bills that are matched by a state contribution. There were eight total CPA appropriations made this year by the city.

Other CPA grants approved are:

■$90,000 to the Northampton Parks and Recreation Department for a flood resilience plan for Maines Field in Ward 5, in response to damages from recent flooding.

■$64,860 to Historic Northampton for an historic structures report for Shepherd House, a document that will inform decisions about the building’s repair, rehabilitation, restoration, and reuse.

■$30,000 to Planning & Sustainability and the Historical Commission for documentation of historic accessory structures, allowing a catalog of  historic barns, carriage houses, and other secondary structures around the city.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.