New home to help neighborhood
Date: 5/10/2013
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comCHICOPEE — By Sept. 1, city officials hope that a new family will be living in the home now under construction at 41 Chestnut St.
Beverly Barry, director of the Chicopee Neighborhood Development Corp., explained to
Reminder Publications that the house at the address was bought from the estate of the former owner and demolished to make way for a single family, energy efficient home.
The new house will feature a driveway — something the older home lacked — as well as three bedrooms and two bathrooms, she said. Other features include hardwood floors, gas heat and central air conditioning.
The price for the home will be $155,000 and will be for sale on a first come, first serve basis to a first-time homebuyer who meets income eligibility guidelines, Barry explained. If there is more than one qualified buyer interested in the home, there will be a lottery and a lender must approve any buyer.
This is the ninth new home Chicopee Neighborhood Development has undertaken, she said.
Mayor Michael Bissonnette said that Cabotville is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city hand has been ignored in the past. This is the second project undertaken by Chicopee Neighborhood Development on Chestnut Street as the mayor pointed to a two family townhouse several close to the location that had also been renovated.
Bissonnette said it's efforts such as these that are affected by the federal budget cuts known as sequestration. Those cuts could decrease the Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME funds and block grants that assist cities such as Chicopee in supporting such efforts.
For more information on the home, contact Barry at 592-8800.
