HOUSATONIC — Engineering work will soon begin on a controversial affordable housing project on North Plain Road just outside the Housatonic section of Great Barrington.
Representatives from White Engineering of Pittsfield, the town’s engineer for the project, will be on site to begin topographic and boundary surveys beginning the week of September 27. Test pits will also be dug to evaluate the site’s stormwater and percolation characteristics, the town said in a written statement yesterday.
The town Affordable Housing Trust Fund purchased the 7.25-acre site, known informally as the Alden property, in July of 2020, using funds awarded by the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and approved at town meeting the previous month.
Earlier this year, the trust awarded the project development rights to Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, which will develop the site with up to 20 affordable homes. Habitat will eventually own the site, with units being owned by income-qualified, first-time-homebuyer households.
“New affordable homes are desperately needed, so we are excited to kick off this work,” Fred Clark, chair of the trust, said in the news release.
Assistant Town Manager and Town Planner Chris Rembold said the early stages of the engineering work kicking off this month are being funded with CPC monies. The Town has applied to the state’s MassWorks program for additional funding to complete the engineering, design, and permitting tasks, with a construction start date anticipated in 2023. The overall project funding efforts are a collaboration between the town and Habitat for Humanity, the town said.
When word first got out that the CPC was considering awarding funds to the trust for the project, dozens of angry nearby residents showed up at a CPC meeting in January 2020 at the fire station on State Road.
Before the CPC could even discuss the proposal for funding, former selectboard member Dan Bailly and his brother Jim got into a shouting match with the committee concerning lack of notice from the CPC and the housing trust to the 21 bordering property owners about the proposal.
The neighbors’ concerns ranged from the proposal’s impact on property values to taxes. One claimed the development could “force [people] out of their homes.” Others wondered aloud about what kinds of residents to expect in the new development, if it ever comes to pass. Rembold explained what constitutes affordable housing, as opposed to low-income housing.
Click here to read a 2017 Edge explainer piece on the Community Preservation Act. The state Community Preservation Act is a voluntary state law that allows municipalities to fund projects that support open space preservation, affordable housing, historic preservation, and the creation of recreational resources.
At the trust’s next meeting the following month, trust members apologized to the residents for insufficient communication with them about the housing plan. Clark, who is also an architect, drafted a request for proposals to potential developers and members of the audience raised more questions about the project.
But this time around there was less emotion and the questions were more substantive. In February 2021, the trust voted unanimously to accept from the Habitat development proposal, which was the only one the trust had received.
“Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity is excited to partner with the community and the town of Great Barrington to achieve affordable homeownership opportunities for families right here in the Berkshires,” said Central Berkshire Habitat CEO Carolyn Valli. “The pandemic has highlighted the need and connection between home and health, education, and economic stability. We applaud the people of Great Barrington for their foresight with this project.”
Valli added that she will keep the neighborhood informed about progress and on-site activities by mail, email, and posts on social media to the Housatonic Neighbors Facebook group.
For general questions or to request periodic mail or email updates on this project, contact Carolyn Valli at 413-442-3181, Ext. 9. For questions about the on-site engineering work, contact Brent White at 413-441-8011 or email bwhite@whiteeng.com.
