Affordable Housing At Shore, Sandwich Roads On Hold
A local developer’s plans to build two affordable housing developments in the Gray Gables area of Bourne have been put on hold for now. An application to the town’s Community Preservation Committee seeking funding for the developments, proposed for 9 Sandwich Road and 194 Shore Road, has been withdrawn for the time being while details of the proposal are worked out.
The withdrawal of the application comes after a meeting earlier this month of the Bourne Affordable Housing Partnership and the developer, Vincent P. Michienzi. At that meeting, held on September 7, Mr. Michienzi and his lawyer, Michael O’Shaughnessy, confirmed that two requests had been made to the CPC, seeking $1.3 million in Community Preservation Act funding for Shore Road and $2.1 million for Sandwich Road.
“That request was based on the contribution from the CPC to construct the affordable units, and I said to the CPC, ‘We’re asking for the moon. I get that,’” Mr. O’Shaughnessy said, referencing the August 23 CPC meeting. “We’re asking for the moon to make this happen and, quite frankly, I didn’t expect the town to fork over that kind of money; it’s unrealistic. But if you don’t ask, you never know what you’re going to get.”
Mr. O’Shaughnessy and Mr. Michienzi both emphasized to the housing partnership that making the numbers work for the two projects was proving to be difficult. Costs of construction are high, Mr. O’Shaughnessy said, and if rent is not high enough to cover the property’s mortgage, it “doesn’t make any financial sense to move forward with the projects.”
Developers are not trying to make millions, he said, but they also are not doing this to lose money.
“There is a housing need in town, and we’re trying to meet that need,” he said. “I know there are a lot of restaurants and small businesses around here that the employees can’t live on-Cape, so they have to live off-Cape and trek down to work and that’s kind of the market we’re trying to hit, and that’s the long and short of why we’re here. Any assistance would be helpful.”
The partnership’s discussion revealed a number of potentials for the projects, including the possibility of increasing the number of units to bring down overall costs and the issue of delays, due to the historic nature of the home at 9 Sandwich Road.
Residents approved a $250,000 allocation in Community Preservation Act funds to the Bourne Historical Society at Annual Town Meeting in May. The money was intended to cover the costs of moving the house, but Mr. Michienzi told the housing partnership earlier this month that little had been done on that front, despite numerous efforts.
“My hands are tied,” he said. Mr. Michienzi also said that the town’s financial aid in these projects is needed, or the projects will not get built.
“I can’t build this out of pocket,” he said. “I don’t have the money; it doesn’t work unless we give it CPC funds.”
Mr. Michienzi brought up a potential change to the project, which would be to construct more units at Sandwich Road, in order to qualify for a low-income tax credit. The idea would be to construct a maximum of 34 units rather than the originally proposed 24, made possible by eliminating the underground parking in lieu of ground-level parking. The project on Shore Road could also potentially be increased from 12 units, he said.
Chairwoman Susan Ross noted that changes in the project’s proposal would require a new endorsement from the partnership, and she and Mr. Michienzi were in agreement that more discussion needs to be had on the projects, particularly with the select board, CPC and town administrator.
The request for funding from the CPC has since been withdrawn. CPC member Andrew Cooney questioned whether there is precedent for the town investing CPA funds on a private development during the committee’s August 23 review of articles for November’s Special Town Meeting. The same issue was also discussed by the housing partnership earlier this month. Ms. Ross said she was advised by housing professionals that it was unprecedented for a town to provide nearly $3 million to a private developer for affordable housing; regardless, she said, working with a developer to get affordable housing built in town is a priority of the partnership and worth pursuing here.
“I don’t need to do this project, I want to do this project, and there is a super need for it,” Mr. Michienzi said. “This housing is for people that work in town…this housing is set up for people that provide our services in the community.”
Mr. Michienzi added that there is no need to rush into the project. Ms. Ross concurred that taking time to look at everything and evaluating all options of funding would be best.
“There are more buildings coming on,” she said, “we want more affordable housing, we’re going to have to step up to the plate where we’ve never had to before.”
The housing partnership was unanimously in agreement to continue working with the developer on the project. Member Robert Frangieh said that “unprecedented times call for unprecedented responses,” and Connie Spilhaus called it “a really attractive plan.”
“I think people just need to get the message: you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is because nobody would argue about the difficulty in having our workers live off-Cape,” she said. “So something’s gotta give.”
In an email earlier this week, Ms. Ross said that a meeting with the various town boards and officials to discuss collaboration to make the project happen is still being organized. The funding application, she added, was withdrawn with the intention of getting things in order for May’s Annual Town Meeting.