To the editor:
The Town of Egremont recently approved three workforce-housing-related initiatives by overwhelming margins at our recent special town meeting. We voted to adopt the Community Preservation Act, which will now be on the ballot for our May 2025 election, as required by law. We also voted to adopt the Affordable Housing Property Tax Exemption, which will enable us to grant a tax exemption for residential properties that are long-term leased to income-qualified tenants at an affordable rental rate. We encourage other Berkshire towns to consider whether these initiatives would work for you.
The third initiative is the one we wish to call to your attention. The Town of Egremont owns six acres of land. For 20 years, the town has tried to find a way to create workforce housing on that property. At long last, we have an attractive proposal. Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire (CDCSB), an affordable-housing nonprofit based in Great Barrington, has proposed creating four units of workforce housing there.
The proposal is innovative. CDCSB will build two condominium duplexes. Each duplex will contain one three-bedroom and one two-bedroom apartment. CDCSB will sell each duplex to an income-qualified buyer. The buyer will live in one unit (presumably the three-bedroom) and will rent out the two-bedroom to an income-qualified tenant at an affordable rent. That rent will make ownership of the duplex affordable for the owner.
This proposal has many virtues. It creates both home ownership and rental units. No property-management company will be needed to collect rent; the owner-occupant will do that. Both the ownership and rental units will be affordable. And they will remain affordable, because the ownership will be “deed restricted” (i.e., the owner will be limited in the profits upon resale, and a subsequent owner must also rent to an income-qualified tenant at an affordable rent).
Creating a small workforce-housing project in a small town is challenging. Developers (understandably) prefer larger projects because of economies of scale. But “larger” frequently does not fit the character of a small town like Egremont. We encourage other towns, in the Berkshires and across the Commonwealth, to consider this duplex model as they struggle to meet their workforce-housing needs. Our Municipal Affordable Housing Trust is happy to offer whatever guidance may be helpful.
Lucinda Vermeulen
Chair of the Egremont Select Board
Egremont
Richard Stanley
Chair of the Egremont Municipal Affordable Housing Trust
Egremont
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