NORTHAMPTON — Multiple members of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s cabinet visited Northampton on Wednesday to mark the groundbreaking of a planned affordable homes project at Prospect Place, the former nursing home at 737 Bridge Road that has fallen into disrepair since its foreclosure in 2012.

State Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper and Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony all attended the event, highlighting how the commonwealth sees projects like the Prospect Place development as helping solve the dual crises of both the cost of housing and the effects of climate change.

The project, overseen by the Valley Community Development Corporation, or Valley CDC, is expected to cost around $30 million and will add 60 new family apartments, powered by geothermal heat pumps and a solar array placed on the roof of the building. Once opened, the cost of utilities will be provided entirely by Valley CDC, meaning those renting the apartments would only need to budget for rent instead of shifting power bills.

“We’ll be paying for heat and hot water here in perpetuity,” said Bill Womeldorf, the real estate project manager for Valley CDC in an interview with the Gazette. “So we wanted to make sure we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot with the costs for that.”

The geothermal heat pump system at Prospect Place functions similar to another project currently underway at Smith College, which is also aiming to achieve total carbon neutrality. Wells are dug more than 400 feet into the ground, with fluid traveling through the wells either absorbing or discharging heat that is then used to control temperature in the building. The 300-kilowatt solar array on top of the building also helps mitigate energy costs.

Valley CDC received several grants from the state to fund the project, including a $2.1 million grant from DOER awarded last year for the installation of the heat pumps and solar panels. Other grants given to the project have come from the OHLC and MassHousing.

“When we bring together the challenges posed to us by the climate crisis and the housing crisis in a way that delivers on projects like this, there’s no way that we can lose,” Mahony said at the event. “We really want to make sure we’re representing the whole commonwealth, and there’s no better place to do that than western Mass.”

Also speaking at the event was Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, who said the new housing units were “desperately needed” in the city.

“This will transform a previously blighted property, which for years the community has wished for something positive to happen,” Sciarra said. “It is within walking distance to Jackson Street School, has quick access to the Mass Central Rail Trail and it is nicely positioned with easy access to meet the needs of these future residents.”

The former nursing home was built in 1967 and has been vacant for more than a decade. Its interior remains mostly barren, though plans call for refitting the building to suit housing needs rather than a complete rebuild. The project is estimated to be completed by November 2025, according to Valley CDC.

Augustus said in an interview that he first toured the facility last year at the invitation of city and state officials, saying he felt it was an ideal spot for affordable housing.

“The idea that you could turn this into family housing, given its proximity to schools and the neighborhood and some green space around it, I thought it was a perfect location,” Augustus said. “It’s laid out in a flat site, so the retrofit isn’t as complex as some of the repurposing of other buildings that we see.”

He also credited the city for its commitment to building affordable housing, particularly units for families as opposed to just senior living.

“It’s less challenging to do senior development because they are often not seen as causing costs to schools or other resources,” Augustus said. “Not every community is as welcoming as Northampton is, and a lot of credit to them for recognizing that an important part of the housing ecosystem is to have affordable places for families.”

In a separate interview, Tepper also highlighted the importance of building affordable housing in helping the state meet its goals to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050.

“One of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions is our building sector,” Tepper said. “Most of the buildings that are existing today will be here in 2050, so we have to start thinking about how we are going to make our existing buildings clean in addition to our new buildings.”

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