By Adam Swift
Revere recently received $285,000 through the state’s Housing Choice program and was named one of 10 newly designated Housing Choice communities.
The state funds will be used to supplement Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) resources the city is investing in Shirley Avenue through the participatory budgeting process.
Last month, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus announced 34 Housing Choice Grant Program awards in 31 communities totaling $4,730,000, and celebrated the 10 communities receiving a first-time Housing Choice Designation in 2023.
“Housing production and preservation is a top priority for our administration,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We need to meet this moment by increasing housing production and lowering costs so people can continue to live, work and build a future in Massachusetts. We’re proud of the work that these 31 communities are doing to help us meet our housing goals, and we’re grateful to the Legislature for making these funds available.”
Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll said the Housing Choice Grant Program is a critical resource for municipalities who want to increase housing production to lower costs for residents.
“This funding will support projects that make our communities more affordable and livable and will make our state stronger as a whole,” she said.
Augustus said the administration’s Affordable Homes Act proposes an additional $30 million of funding for the HousingWorks, Housing Choice Grant Program, ensuring that the state can continue to reward the cities and towns that go above and beyond to meet the housing needs of their residents.
Communities that achieve the Housing Choice designation have exclusive access to apply for the Housing Choice Grant Program and receive bonus points or other considerations in nine other state grant programs including the MassWorks Infrastructure Program and the Clean Water Trust Fund.
Since the first awards were distributed in 2018, the Housing Choice Initiative has provided over $27 million in grant dollars to support infrastructure improvements, housing production planning, technical assistance, and more.
The City of Revere launched the voting phase of the Shirley Ave Participatory Budgeting process, through which community members who live, work, and spend time in the Shirley Ave neighborhood can vote to determine how $560,000 of municipal funds will be spent on public realm improvements in the area, late last year.
The Shirley Ave Participatory Budgeting process is part of the work being implemented collaboratively through the Revere Transformative Development Initiative (TDI), a public-private partnership that includes City of Revere, Women Encouraging Empowerment, The Neighborhood Developers, and Mass General Hospital. MassDevelopment’s TDI program is a three-year place-based community development program that supports the implementation of local priorities.
