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Date: 12/12/2022
NORTHAMPTON – Valley CDC received an $830,000 grant from the state to assist in the redevelopment of the former nursing home on 737 Bridge St. for affordable housing units, with construction for this project expected to begin in 2024.
Background
In the spring, Valley CDC purchased the former Northampton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center on 737 Bridge Rd. for $2.6 million for the purpose of 60 units of affordable and workforce housing; using a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, as well as some studios.
“The current projected project cost is $25.3 million,” Valley CDC Executive Director Alexis Breiteneicher told Reminder Publishing back in April. “This project will provide long-term affordable housing in Northampton and will help reduce the current shortfall of affordable places for people to live.”
The location, which has been vacant since 2011, was identified in the past as a viable place for the city to alleviate some of the barriers people face in Northampton with housing.
During a spring City Council meeting, former Director of Planning & Sustainability Wayne Feiden said that, out of the $25 million project cost, Valley CDC is asking Northampton to contribute around $1 million of that split into three payments.
According to Breiteneicher, the proposed units would aim to bring people in with incomes between 30 to 100 percent of the area median income. The projected rents will vary based on where someone falls within the area median income.
At the time, Breiteneicher estimated that a studio may rent for between $720 to $1,150, a one-bedroom for $870 to $1,250, a two-bedroom for $1,090 and a three-bedroom for $1,265 to $1,350.
Aside from the affordable housing, Breiteneicher also stated that Valley CDC is exploring amenities like an electric vehicle charging station, a Valley BikeShare location and community garden spaces. They do, however, plan to keep the same footprint of the existing building.
The grant
The $830,000 Valley CDC received is part of the commonwealth’s fiscal year 2023 Underutilized Properties Program, which awarded a little over $21 million to 49 projects across the state.
The program is designed “to fund projects that will improve, rehabilitate or redevelop blighted, abandoned, vacant or underutilized properties to achieve the public purposes of eliminating blight, increasing housing production, supporting economic development projects, increasing the number of commercial buildings accessible to persons with disabilities,” according to State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, in a post on social media.
According to Breiteneicher, the plan at the moment is to start construction of the houses in March 2024, with the hopes of having everything completed by the middle of 2025.
“We are reviewing options for a new state-of-the-art geothermal heating system & solar photo voltaic,” Breiteneicher said, regarding where they are currently at in the process. “[The $830,000] is for asbestos abatement, which will help the site be more easily developed and funded. We are grateful to be supporting Northampton with developing this under-utilized property and increasing the amount of affordable housing in our community.”
The abatement of hazardous materials on the property will make way for further renovation and redevelopment of the property.