Village Hill CPC support letter BreitbartTo: Northampton Community Preservation Committee
Re: Village Hill Apartments
I am writing to support the application of The Community Builders (TCB) with Valley CDC for $300,000 in CPA funds for the Village Hill Apartments project. I believe that this project
is of critical importance because it will serve our City’s most pressing community need, the need for high quality affordable rental housing in our extremely challenging rental market.
The project is extremely well suited to meet the housing needs in the City in that it will serve a range of populations and incomes, including lower income households, persons with
disabilities, and “workforce housing” eligible families. This is most important in Northampton, where the expense and limited supply of rental housing creates a significant challenge
for so many families seeking affordable units.
I have worked with both TCB and Valley CDC over the years on affordable housing projects, and I can say with certainty that they are extremely well qualified to successfully develop
and operate the proposed project. They have outstanding track records in producing high quality housing developments in our city and the region. All of their projects are well designed
and constructed, making good use of open space and creating quality living environments for residents.
I am very excited that the project will be located in the growing and diverse new community at Village Hill, which has already proven to be an excellent location for a broad range of
housing opportunities, including housing serving low and moderate income families and persons with disabilities. This project is also an extremely good investment of CPA funds, as it
will leverage over $20 million in state and federal housing resources for the project. The project will also serve CPC priority categories in addition to housing because it will provide
other amenities including preservation of open space subject to a conservation restriction, a playground for all Village Hill residents, extension of walking paths and connection to
bike paths, and passive design features to achieve minimum energy usage.
I have worked in the field on nonprofit affordable housing development for forty years as a development consultant, public lender and technical assistance provider, and housing agency
executive director. Based on my experience, I feel that TCB and Valley CDC will produce an excellent project serving a critical community need, and I hope you will support this request
for CPA funding.
Respectfully submitted,
William Breitbart
37 Munroe Street