Great Barrington — Back in 2018, the Community Development Corporation South Berkshire (CDCSB) closed on the purchase of an eight-acre site at 910 South Main Street for an affordable housing apartment project called Windrush Commons.
The mission of the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, which was formed in 1988, is to provide affordable housing and economic development opportunities for low and moderate-income residents.
The project is co-sponsored by Way Finders of Springfield, a nonprofit community development corporation that works to create permanent affordable housing.
In the ensuing years since the purchase of the property, the housing crisis in Berkshire County has continued to grow. Despite this, members of CDCSB and Way Finders, along with state and town officials, at the ribbon-cutting event at Windrush Commons on Friday, June 30 were all hopeful that the opening of the affordable housing complex would help with the county’s affordable housing crisis.
The complex includes 49 units, including 12 one-bedroom units, 25 two-bedroom units, and 12 three-bedroom units. A majority of the $19 million funding for the project, $14 million, came from a state grant awarded in March 2021 by the Department of Housing and Community Development.
In an interview at the event, organization Executive Director Carol Bosco Baumann told The Berkshire Edge that, while several units are still being worked on, several already have tenants that have moved in. “This is going to help provide much-needed housing that is affordable to all,” Baumann said. “These units will be for the folks who work in our schools, hospitals, retail, and restaurants. It’s going to provide an affordable place for people who contribute to the community in multiple ways.”
“The organization has done a great job of providing options for people throughout our community,” Great Barrington Affordable Housing Trust Fund Chair Fred Clark added. “It’s a project the organization spearheaded, and it’s a great addition to the community. Residents who live here are within walking distance to Big Y and Guido’s Fresh Market Place.”
While the mood at the June 30 event was celebratory, both Baumann and Clark said that there continues to be a housing crisis in the Berkshires.
In his speech during the event, Way Finders President and CEO Keith Fairey noted that there are currently 163 families on a waiting list for Windrush Commons. “When I stop getting phone calls and emails from residents looking for housing, it will stop being a crisis,” Baumann said. “I do think that the partnerships between the towns and organizations are important to help solve the crisis. We all have to work together because there is no simple solution. We know that projects like this take from five to seven years to develop, but we have to be more nimble and creative when it comes to solutions. We also have to help existing homeowners who cannot afford to update their properties to help stay in them.”
In his speech during the ceremony, Fairey said that, while the completion of the Windrush Commons project will help with the affordable housing crisis, organizations and communities in Berkshire County must work harder to create new projects. “I am part of a larger [affordable housing] coalition across four counties in western Massachusetts,” Fairey said. “[Members were asked] about what they planned to do with projects over the next five years. There are 51 affordable housing projects planned for 18 cities and towns which will build 1,216 units over the next five years. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? But we have thousands and thousands who are still in need of affordable housing, so we must do more. I ask all of you to be engaged in that, to be engaged in these efforts by talking to your neighbors, friends, your elected officials at the local level, the state level, and at the federal level, to ask them for more resources and support so we can create better outcomes for all of us.”
In his speech at the event, State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D – Lenox) emphasized the need for affordable housing and said that, in the state’s Fiscal 2023-2024 budget, Maura Healey (D) allotted $1.5 billion to fund affordable housing projects. “The bill is short on details, but the point is that the monies will be there [for future projects],” State Rep. Pignatelli said. “I encourage communities and organizations to develop plans. Don’t wait for the money to come, because I think we’re going to fund projects. We’re not going to fund ideas, so get ahead of it because it’s a very competitive market for housing dollars, but we need to get our fair share of it.”
In his speech, State Sen. Paul Mark (D – 2nd Berkshire District) stressed the importance of communities and organizations working together. “We are used to having less, and we are used to being forgotten,” State Sen. Mark said. “By that fact, we have no choice of our own to have to work together. That is why we excel at it.”
