Housing Headlines

Using data from a model developed by a California research group, the Pioneer Institute has created a COVID Unemployment Tracker that estimates unemployment rates by zip code and illustrates this information through interactive heat maps, trend graphs, and individual municipality and zip code data tables. The tracker shows the hardest hit counties and also shows unemployment hot spots by municipality.

NORTHAMPTON --- The Valley Community Development Corp. has tapped an asset manager executive from a regional affordable housing development company to be its new executive director. Janet Loechler, asset manager at The Community Builders, has been named to succeed Joanne Campbell, who is stepping down after 20 years. Loechler will begin her new job on June 1.

BOSTON --- The Senate on Monday, May 4 approved legislation to address a number of municipal governance challenges related to COVID-19. Included in the bill (S. 2680) are an extension of deadline for mayors to submit budgets, leeway to allows select boards to lower quorum requirements for town meetings and an option to hold town meetings remotely. The bill now goes to the House, and final action on the bill could come as early as this week.

BOSTON --- In advance of its 2020 Affordable Housing Program $18 million funding round, the Federal Home Loan Bank Boston is offering several online trainings to help applicants apply and factor COVID-19 impacts into their applications. The special trainings will run from May 19 through July 8 and run in parallel to the application window, which runs from June 8 until July 30.

This is a reminder that the deadline for communities to apply for the the state's 2020 Housing Choice designation is Friday, May 8 at 3 p.m. The Baker Administration's Housing Choice Initiative rewards municipalities that have adopted best practices related to production and have produced certain amounts of new housing in the last five years.

NORTH ANDOVER --- Selectmen have voted to set aside $100,000 to help residents who are having trouble paying their rent due to COVID-19. The decision is part of a wave of interest by communities to use local funds for emergency rental assistance. Since the state of emergency was declared, MHP has received many calls and has issued guidelines on how to fund and administer such programs. https://www.mhp.net/resources?query=&category%5B%5D=Rental+Assistance