HYANNIS, Mass. (Aug. 30, 2024) – Housing Assistance celebrated the recent passage of the Affordable Homes Act at a special event with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward M. Augustus Jr. The gathering underscored the legislation’s importance for affordable housing development on Cape Cod and across the Commonwealth.
State and local officials gathered Aug. 28 at the former Governor Prence Inn on Route 6A, where Housing Assistance and its partners will rejuvenate the 5.5-acre parcel following a competitive bidding process held by the Town of Orleans. The redevelopment will include 61 affordable rental homes, 10 middle-income townhomes, and seven single-family homes for lower-income residents, representing a significant step forward in addressing the region’s housing challenges.
“Our administration has made lowering housing costs a major priority from the start. This challenge is solvable, and the solution starts with local partnerships and purposeful investment,” said Lt. Gov. Driscoll. “Our Affordable Homes Act puts dollars in the hands of the people doing the hard work of building the places we all get to call home. It invests in the people who believe, just as much as we do, that Massachusetts in the best place in the world to live and do business and gives them the funding to help build on that reality.”
“It takes insight and creativity to reimagine a former motel as a solution to a community’s housing needs,” said Secretary Augustus. “Initiatives like the former Governor Prence Inn, in tandem with the Affordable Homes Act, help create the housing we need to meet the demand, help control housing costs and keep Massachusetts competitive. This mix of apartments, townhomes and single-family homes is a direct answer to the challenge we face to build more of every kind of housing for our communities.”
Lt. Gov. Driscoll praised the collaborative efforts that led to the Orleans project and underscored the state’s commitment to increasing affordable housing opportunities across Massachusetts. On Aug. 6, Gov. Maura Healey signed the Affordable Homes Act, a $5.16 billion housing bond bill that will support the production, preservation and rehabilitation of more than 65,000 homes statewide over the next five years.
“We are thankful for the strong, unwavering leadership that is succeeding in bringing impactful housing policy and funding support from Beacon Hill to the communities of Barnstable County, where many aspire to achieve the American Dream of homeownership or simply strive for a roof over their head,” said Alisa Magnotta, CEO of Housing Assistance. “The seasonal community designation in the Affordable Homes Act provides a new tool for creating attainable housing for year-round residents who are essential to Cape Cod’s economic vitality.”
State Sen. Julian Cyr and state Rep. Sarah Peake, whose districts include Orleans, have been strong proponents of the Affordable Homes Act and advocated for an expanded seasonal communities designation that was included in the final bill. They have been instrumental in advocating for increased state investment in affordable housing initiatives, recognizing the urgency to support essential workers and families on the Cape.
“The people who were fortunate to buy a home 20 or 30 years ago, even a decade ago, even a few years ago before the pandemic, when interest rates were much lower, they may not realize the dire situation that we are in for Cape and Islanders,” Cyr said. “We are just in a dire predicament, and we’ve been talking about this for a long, long, long time. But what is remarkable today is that we have delivered and delivered in the most significant way.”
Passing the legislation took “perseverance, determination, and just enough patience not to sit back and let time slide by,” according to Peake. “I can see the look on the faces of the families that will be moving in here,” she said of the project. “I can almost guarantee you every family will say something along these lines: ‘Now we feel safe.’ That is what this is all about.”
Vice Chair of the Orleans Select Board, Kevin Galligan, also expressed his excitement about this project and its importance in meeting the town’s housing needs, highlighting its potential to strengthen the local community.
“The housing bill is so significant because it truly addresses the unique challenges we face, particularly on the lower and outer Cape, because housing for working families is so desperate,” said Galligan. “We need private housing, we need public housing, but we need housing for our hardworking families, people who are staff in our town halls, people who are health care folks, teachers, fishermen, the list goes on, but we need them to stay on the Cape. The need cannot be more urgent.”
The Governor Prence Inn redevelopment is one of several projects being undertaken by Housing Assistance and its partners, which include Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod, to address housing on the Cape. Through initiatives like this, Housing Assistance continues its mission to provide affordable housing solutions and promote stable communities for all residents across Cape Cod.
About Housing Assistance
Housing Assistance has provided a spectrum of services to help our homeless and vulnerable neighbors secure a safe, stable place to call home since 1974. These programs and services include homeless outreach, family shelters, rental vouchers, affordable housing development, energy efficiency programs, and first-time homebuyer support. Housing Assistance also works to address the root causes of housing instability – lack of inventory and lack of affordability – that affect almost all income levels in our region. To learn more, visit www.haconcapecod.org.
