Posted on July 2, 2025
BOSTON --- Building on its commitment to help communities achieve their affordable housing goals through using local funds, MHP's Community Assistance team has selected four communities to receive support through its intensive technical assistance program for local housing trusts.
Launched in 2021, MHP’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund Technical Assistance Program builds on MHP’s history of helping communities start and operate effective trusts. This effort began in 2005 when the state legislature passed the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Law, simplifying the process of establishing a local housing trust fund. The intensive training calls for providing six months of direct technical assistance from MHP’s community assistance staff. In some instances, the assistance has been extended. Read about the kickoff of the technical assistance program and the continuing efforts.
Concord, Hull, Melrose, and Springfield were selected for the latest round of MHP’s program. Three have an established trust. One community is working toward establishing a trust. Each community will receive up to 10 months of direct technical assistance from MHP staff.
“During the pandemic, we saw a significant annual increase in communities adopting a municipal affordable housing trust fund,” said MHP Senior Program Manager Shelly Goehring. “That, coupled with the urgency of our housing crisis, makes it all the more critical that we provide additional support to communities that want it.”
Coordinated collaboration in Concord
After assembling an advisory board to study housing trusts, the Town of Concord established an affordable housing trust fund in 2021. Since then, $5 million was directed to the trust and $3.1 million was allocated to support the creation of 63 affordable housing units. The Concord Housing Production Plan was adopted in 2022.
MHP is helping the trust prioritize its housing efforts and coordinate with other local housing organizations through the Concord Housing Roundtable, which consists of the Concord Housing Authority, Concord Housing Development Corporation, Concord Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, Concord Housing Foundation, Select Board, Planning Board, and Community Preservation Committee.
MHP is also providing training to help trustees better understand affordable housing finance to inform the trust’s future funding allocations.
Building housing infrastructure in Hull
The Hull Affordable Housing Committee (AHC) drove the effort to establish a housing trust fund, receiving an affirmative voted at Town Meeting in May 2025. MHP worked with the AHC to develop a draft bylaw and when presented to the Select Board, it was approved unanimously.
The AHC, with support from CHAPA’s Municipal Engagement Initiative, developed a promotional campaign to educate voters about the bylaw and how a trust fund can help create, preserve, and support affordable housing in the town. MHP’s assistance will now shift to helping Hull’s new trust operational once trustees are appointed to the board.
Developing a roadmap in Melrose
Melrose established an affordable housing trust in 2020. Yet, the city’s most recently appointed trustees and the board have struggled to identify a common vision. MHP is working with the board to develop a mission statement to clarify the board’s role in the community, as well as establish goals and strategies to direct its investment over the next few years.
MHP worked with Wellfleet, Winchester, Amherst, Marshfield and Stoneham to help them on their mission statements, goals and strategies. In the case of Wellfleet, MHP worked with their housing authority and housing partnership to delineate the roles of each board.
An uncommon model in Springfield
Springfield established its housing trust fund in 2022 and designated the members of the Springfield Redevelopment Authority as the trustees. The city also created an advisory committee made up of residents who are experts in the housing nonprofit, real estate, and finance fields to advise on goals and initiatives of the fund to support the trust. Given this uncommon model, the boards have been hesitant on how to move forward.
MHP is helping the trust fund board, with engagement from the advisory board, identify areas of housing need that the trust can have a measurable impact on. From there, goals, strategies, and guidelines will be established for how the trust will operate.
Committed to supporting trusts
Since the technical assistance program was established in 2021, MHP has also provided affordable housing trust fund intensive technical assistance to Revere, Wellfleet, Medford, Southampton, Winchester, Amherst, Lynn, Marshfield, and Stoneham. Revere is a new trust. In 2023, $100,000 was allocated toward a development that will include 18 affordable homeownership units.
Wellfleet is working to create 100 units of low- to moderate-income rental and homeownership units over the next five years. The town established a program to support ADU creation, starting with four forgivable loans of up to $10,000 each to homeowners who create an ADU and rent it affordably for a minimum of five years.
Residences at Lawrence Hill received close to $24 million in subsidies and tax credits to build 46 affordable units at 95 Lawrence Road. Ground was broken in November 2024. Eight affordable rental units at 120 Paine Hollow Road are planned. Four affordable units are being built at 2254 Old Kings Highway. Plans are underway to acquire property for the creation of at least 20 new homes in 2025.
At least 150 communities in the commonwealth have adopted municipal trusts. MHP has created a Municipal Affordable Housing Trust guidebook and a Municipal Housing Trust Operations Manual to help municipal officials delve step-by-step into the details of how to operate new or established housing trusts.
Contact
For general information about how MHP can help your community use local funds for affordable housing, contact Shelly Goehring.
For press inquiries, contact MHP Communications Manager Lisa Braxton.