Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

Gloucester Affordable Housing Trust has voted to provide ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) grant awards to three of the six applicants who submitted proposals in April, aimed at producing or preserving affordable housing in Gloucester. 

The following conditional awards have been granted: 

• 1. Wellspring House: $51,380 for a project feasibility study of their 14-unit Single Room Occupancy (SRO) building located on Chestnut Street. 
• 2. North Shore Y: $380,000 for the renovation of an existing affordable supportive housing community at 67 Middle Street. 
• 3. Action, Inc.: $250,000 for the renovation of an existing supportive housing community at 3 Eastern Point Road. 

Mayor Greg Verga said, “Supporting new housing and preservation efforts is crucial for maintaining the vibrancy and inclusivity of our community. These ARPA grants will help ensure that Gloucester continues to be a place where everyone has access to safe and affordable housing.” 

Conditional award letters will be sent to the recipients in the coming weeks. Collectively, these projects will result in the creation or preservation of 120 housing units in Gloucester, 90 of which will be designated as affordable units. 

The Gloucester Affordable Housing Trust Fund was created to support the creation, preservation, and maintenance of affordable housing in the City of Gloucester. Chairperson Larry Oaks said, “We set out to fund at least 100 units of affordable housing through the ARPA housing initiative. So, we’re truly delighted at this point to be in a position to fund and support up to six individual projects that collectively will produce or preserve more than 100 housing units across the city.  It all speaks to the tremendous need for affordable housing here in Gloucester.”  

The Trust has decided to reserve their decision on the remaining three funding applications until October. This extension will allow Harborlight, Bill Wheat, and Action, Inc. additional time to provide information demonstrating that their projects are “ready to proceed,” as required by ARPA funding guidelines.