Housing Development Team Working to Add Hundreds of Affordable Homes
One piece of the puzzle in solving Cape Cod’s housing crisis is the construction of new affordable housing. Housing Assistance is the largest developer of affordable housing in the region and has built almost 600 units since its founding in 1974. Another 250 units are in the development pipeline.
“It is challenging to create affordable homeownership and rental opportunities on Cape Cod, but it is an important part of our mission,” said David Quinn, Housing Assistance’s vice president of real estate development. “We have in-house expertise and history building new units, and we partner with other agencies and organizations to see complex projects through from conception to completion.”
In 2023, Brewster Woods opened to new tenants and quickly filled to capacity. The 30-unit affordable rental complex was built in collaboration with Housing Assistance’s long-running partner, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and the Town of Brewster.
Work will continue in 2024 to create new affordable, attainable housing for workers, families and seniors.
LeClair Village Apartments (Mashpee)
Construction is underway on another collaboration with POAH that will include 39 affordable apartments for families and individuals. A groundbreaking and naming ceremony in May 2023 honored Mary LeClair of Mashpee, a former Barnstable County Commissioner and longtime champion of Housing Assistance.
Cape View Way (Bourne)
Construction also started in 2023 on a 42-unit affordable project located on Cape View Way in Sagamore Beach. The project, also in partnership with POAH, is designed to passive house energy efficiency standards and will include four handicapped-accessible apartments. Most of the apartments will be affordable to residents earning 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), with 16 units subsidized for residents at 30 percent of AMI.
107 Main Street (Orleans)
The Town of Orleans selected Housing Assistance to develop the 1.25-acre property into 14 affordable rental units on town-owned land. All units will be restricted to households that earn below 80% of the county median income. With local permitting finalized and all funding committed, groundbreaking is expected in early 2024.
Stevens Street (Hyannis)
268 Stevens Street will provide affordable condominium units in the heart of downtown Hyannis, with 40 units for purchase by 100% AMI households and the remaining 10 units available at market rate. We are working with the Town of Barnstable on zoning approval and expect the project to break ground in late 2024. “Homeownership has become increasingly out of reach for our critical workforce, leading to displacement,” said Quinn. “This project will increase economic vitality and stability of our community by providing a path to ownership for households at or below the median income.”
Spring Rock Village (Brewster)
A proposed development of 45 affordable housing units located on Millstone Road on land owned by The Town of Brewster will provide apartments for a range of household types with affordable rents that working outer Cape families can support. The site design creates a sociable neighborhood that preserves the existing 16-acre woodland habitat and minimizes building footprints by centering several four-unit apartment buildings around a town center.
