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Downtown Affordable Housing CPA application.pdfDowntown Affordable Housing 1 COMMUNITY PRESERVATION PROJECT APPLICATION COVER SHEET I: Project Information Project Title: Downtown Affordable Housing Project Summary: CPA Funding is sought to create climate resilient housing in a central downtown location on Crafts Avenue. Work proposed will advance the project through design and permitting, and will be used as the FY23 local match for a $921,300 Commonwealth Municipal Vulnerability Program (MVP) grant already received. Estimated start date: Immediately upon receipt of funds CPA Program Area (check all that apply): � Open Space � Historic Preservation  Community Housing � Recreation II: Applicant/Developer Information Contact Person and or/primary applicant: Carolyn Misch, Director Property Owner (if applicable): City of Northampton Organization (if applicable): Northampton Office of Planning and Sustainability Mailing Address: 210 Main Street, Room 11 Daytime phone #: 413-587-1265 Fax #: 413-587-1264 E-mail address: cmisch@northamptonma.gov III: Budget Summary Total budget for project: $1,265,300 CPA funding request: $60,000 CPA request as percentage of total budget: 4.7% Applicant’s Signature: Date Submitted: September 9, 2022_______________________ Downtown Affordable Housing 2 Narrative: Approximately 1% of Northampton’s population is houseless or at severe risk of being houseless (e.g., sleeping outdoors, couch surfing, sleeping in shelters, living in unstable SRO or other housing tenancy), with an additional 14% severely housing burdened (e.g., one medical bill or short-term unemployment away from losing housing). These populations are especially vulnerable to climate change. It affects those with transient sleeping locations who are exposed to increasingly common threats- insect vectors, flooding of typical outdoor sleeping areas, or heat waves, as well as those who are housed but are most likely to be in housing that is least likely to be climate resilient (e.g., insufficient cooling, poor insulation, high heating and cooling bills, no utility rate payer subsidies for building improvements). In Northampton, the face of those intransient sleeping situations and experiencing or at great risk of houseless includes an older median age and a higher rate of physical and psychological disabilities than the population as a whole, making them especially vulnerable to both acute climate change events (e.g., major storm events and flooding) and chronic climate change events (e.g., more intense storms, heat waves, insect vectors). We will serve these populations with 24 units of climate resilient studio apartments located in the heart of downtown, near all services and transit pulse points, close to carbon neutral, fossil free heating and cooling, and designed for passive survivability. 24 units is more beds than the typical census at either of our two primary homeless shelters. The City has already surplused the site for affordable housing, for now consideration, providing a huge subsidy. Using the CPA Affordable Housing Fund grant as an initial investment, we have completed architectural space and feasibility plans, and have worked with a civil engineer and geotechnical firm to complete necessary geotechnical borings earlier this summer. This groundwork allowed the full project to receive funding through the MVP program for both FY23 and FY24. The first stage, for which a CPA match is requested, will complete the design through design development in FY23. The second stage, in FY24, will complete the design through construction drawings and bid specifications. With site control and design development, the project will be advanced enough to go for construction financing. The site was selected for a number of reasons. First, the site is downtown, providing the greatest access to services (e.g., employment, support services, social services, social communities, transit, walking). Second, the site offers some great resilience opportunities (e.g., elevating housing out of the floodplain even if the flood control levees protecting downtown failed, southerly exposure for solar, light and air, northerly and westerly sides significantly buried into a hillside for super insulation, located near Downtown Affordable Housing 3 support services). Third, the site provides the opportunity for a highly visible climate resilient housing model. Fourth, the site fills in a missing tooth in Northampton’s urban fabric, making downtown more affordable and further reducing our transportation footprint. Fifth, the site is in the epicenter of where the largest concentration of those experiencing houseless are during the day, providing evidence that this is a site that will be highly desirable for those users. Finally, the City is very supportive of this site and has donated the property at no consideration because of the importance of the site in addressing our housing needs The project addresses a number of priorities set in our MVP-Community Resilience Findings and then in the Climate Resilience and Regeneration element of our Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan that was partially funded from the MVP Planning Grant. First, the vulnerabilities in the MVP-Community Resilience Findings included the lack of affordable housing, sheltering for those in chronic needs, and stress, all of which this project addresses. Second those MVP findings specifically recommend more passive survivable housings, ensuring equitable transportation access, and reducing the need for emergency sheltering bids, all of which this project achieved. Finally, the Resilience and Regeneration Plan goes further and highlights the climate benefits of new development being in an near downtown, and equity-focused approach to housing, ensuring new housing is fossil fuel free and carbon neutral, all of which this project advances. The project will be designed around creating a nature based solutions for a climate resilience building. We are committed to installing all of the following features until we encounter unresolvable design challenges in any area during design: • Not relaying on the flood control levees. While the City is advancing the certification of our flood control levees and expects to maintain them forever, the project will be designed so that even if the levees and downtown flood control pumps ever fail or have a storm greater than the design of those features that the affordable housing project we are designing is survive passively and all housing is elevated above any potential flood event. • Maximizing natural light and air. The building site has excellent southern exposure and will have natural light and operable windows to the extent consistent with a super insulated building. • Northerly and westerly first two floors super insulated with ground insulation. One of the big costs of this site is the need to move soil to allow the building to be built into a hillside, the benefit is to provide super insulation to approximately 20% of the building side envelope, helping the building be close to net energy zero but not competing with the need for natural light. • Rooftop solar photovoltaics. Other than the space needed for roof top mechanicals, the rest of the roof will be covered with solar photovoltaics, to Downtown Affordable Housing 4 power the building sustainability and, along with a low energy footprint, maximize the time the building can operate during utility service interruptions. • Stormwater mitigation. Most of the building footprint is currently parking, sidewalk, staircase, and retaining wall, so the building causes virtually no increase in impervious area. What little it causes, however, will be addressed with stormwater infiltration features to the extent feasible. • Building materials. We are exploring either a 100% mass timber frame or at least a timber frame on top of a concrete pedestal. This creates a small carbon footprint that buildings that relay on more steel and concrete, sequesters carbon in the building, and creates a more desirable and livable building. • Downtown design location. The development of this site on a missing tooth site downtown and replacing some parking with housing, creates a project whose environmental footprint may be smaller than the previous parking lot use. Timeline, Scope, and Budget Project Scope Project Kick-off and Management The City will hold a kick-off meeting with internal stakeholders (e.g., Planning and the Mayor’s office), early community stakeholders (e.g., Valley Community Development Corporation), EEA, and our consultant team who have taken us through due-diligence and space planning. Project Case Study: The Office of Planning and Sustainability, working with our project partners, will create a case study documenting both the substantive aspects of the project and the community engagement and empowerment aspects of the project. Bidding and designer selection The city project manager will bid for and complete designer selection in accordance with state procurement requirements. Public Involvement and Community Engagement At each step in the process, we will work closely with our consultant team and our affordable housing development team to deeply engage community members in the schematic design and programming plan of the building, including outreach to potential residents, business community, downtown residents, and other stakeholders, outreach at homeless shelters, the food pantry and hot meals programs, and at community SRO’s to engage these populations where they are, without expecting them to come to us. We will also hold in-person meetings (with remote options) at a City facility, at our temporary community resilience hub/hot meal center, and at the Downtown Northampton Association monthly forums. Building and Site Design through Design Development Schematic Design (SD): Engage the community, stakeholders, and the site to develop a program for the building and schematic plans showing all resilience features and interior and exterior building layout. Downtown Affordable Housing 5 Design Development (DD): Design development follows the completion of the schematic design phase. Again, with both a draft plan and final plan tasks, this process allows the deeper development of plans sufficient for permitting, cost estimating, bidding the site to an affordable housing developer, and applying for construction financing. The design phases are the tasks for which a local cash match was required in the MVP award, and for which CPA funds are now requested. RFP for an affordable housing developer: Once at least draft schematic plans are prepared, the City will issue an RFP for the final affordable housing provider who will be the developer who takes the project though to construction. The City is not requiring any consideration other than creating deed-restricted affordable housing in accordance with these plans. The final steps will include Construction Drawings, structural plans and specifications to include with the final bid, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection design: MEPFP to include in the final bid, and cost estimating for funders and to include in the bid. Once complete, the City will donate the land for affordable housing and transfer ownership rights to the affordable housing developer. The project meets several Community Preservation general criteria: Contributes to the preservation of Northampton’s unique character, boosts the vitality of the community, and enhances the quality of life for its residents Providing a wide variety of quality affordable housing types to meet the community’s needs is critical to the character and vitality of Northampton. Potential reduces the number of people sleeping outdoors or transiently. Addresses recommendations contained in the Sustainable Northampton comprehensive plan and/or the Open Space, Recreation, and Mixed Use Trail Plan 2011-2017 or is consistent with other city-wide planning efforts that have received broad-based scrutiny and input and can demonstrate wide community support This project will result in new affordable housing opportunities in Northampton, meets the goals of the Housing Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan, and will help to address impediments to fair housing identified in the Fair Housing Assessment. It also meets the Sustainable Northampton goal of supporting a wide variety of housing types that increase rental and homeownership units to create and preserve a range of affordability and choice in housing options Receives endorsement by community groups, municipal boards and/or departments The application is presented by the Office of Planning and Sustainability in its capacity as the lead office in promoting and planning for affordable housing opportunities in Northampton, and is supported by the Housing Partnership. Leverages additional public and/or private funds, or demonstrates that other funding sources are not readily available or sufficient Downtown Affordable Housing 6 Made possible through the CPA affordable housing fund, this work will now leverage significant state grant funds. Can be implemented expeditiously and within budget We will begin predevelopment work as soon as funding is available. The Project Meets ALL of the Community Housing Criteria • Create or preserve community housing – both rental and home ownership, with a focus that matches community needs for households • Promote and encourage use by diverse populations • Provide housing that is harmonious in design and scale with the surrounding community • Intermingle affordable and market rate housing • Ensure long-term affordability (Appendix D), with a focus on: a. Housing ownership affordability of at least 30 years b. Housing rental affordability of at least 30 years, or such longer period as may be contained in an Affordable Housing Restriction granted to the Commonwealth. • Promote the use of existing buildings or construction on previously- developed or City-owned sites • Give priority to Northampton residents and employees, consistent with fair housing. For information about fair housing, see Appendix B • Provide the City credit for units under M.G.L. Chapter 40B • Provide housing that incorporates supportive services for those in need of services, including the homeless and persons with disabilities. • Is LEED or Energy Star certified, complies with energy stretch code, and has a very low HERS rating, and is fossil fuel free, or meets City energy and sustainability performance standards for affordable housing projects with significant city funding • Enhance nonprofit capacity for providing housing and related services • Provide mixed-use development opportunities • Provide housing in locations that promote walking, biking, and use of public transportation, and discourage single-occupancy vehicle trips • Provide housing for households with incomes below 80% of area median, and based on community need give special consideration for funding to projects which restrict at least some units to even lower income households including households with incomes below 50% or 30% of area median. • Is accessible to people with disabilities or is visitable for people with disabilities Downtown Affordable Housing 7 Project Budget: Task Source Cost Project Management OPS Staff Match $11,000 Community Engagement OPS Staff Match $4,000 Community Engagement MVP Grant $7,000 Building and Site Design Plans MVP Grant $300,000 Building and Site Design Plans CPA $60,000 Developer RFP City Match $10,000 Final Construction Drawing MVP Grant $608,300 Land Donation City Match $250,000 Total $1,250,300 ATTACHMENTS: Support Letters Representative Options City Council Order Surplusing Site Site Plan View from Main Street Birdseye from NorthwestBirdseye from Southeast SITE & MASSING: OPTIONS 1, 3 & 4 City of Northampton MASSACHUSETTS _________ In City Council, October 21, 2021 Upon the recommendation of Mayor David J. Narkewicz and Planning & Sustainability 21.343 An Order to Surplus City Land for Affordable Housing and Community Resilience Hub off Crafts Avenue WHEREAS, Consistent with the Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan, Open Space, Recreation, and Multi-Use Trail Plan, Housing Needs Assessment and Strategic Housing Plan, and Unlocking Opportunity: An Assessment of Barriers to Fair Housing, the city has a comprehensive affordable housing program, including limited development, funding, regulatory incentives, and surplusing of city land; WHEREAS, Consistent with the Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan, Community Resilience Building Findings, and Mayor’s Task Force on Panhandling, the city has a program to create a Community Resilience Hub as a downtown facility with a coordinated program for frontline communities and any residents who face chronic and acute stress due to disasters, pandemics, climate change, and other social and economic challenges. It will serve the 1% (homeless and those with severe chronic stress), the 15% (below the poverty line), the 40% (housing-burdened and under chronic stress) and the 100% (those at risk of acute adverse events), by providing access to resource, a social network, and building social resilience; WHEREAS, Downtown studio apartments are especially important to help transition people who are experiencing houselessness or who face extreme housing burdens; WHEREAS, The city has made offers for the Roundhouse and for St. John Cantius Church and explored other options for a community resilience hub, while exploring a back-up option of developing a hub in a new building, potentially co-located with affordable housing; WHEREAS, The city’s property extending from the Puchalski Municipal Office Building to the Roundhouse bus station driveway to Crafts Avenue, to the southerly most parking spaces in the city hall parking lot potentially is viable for affordable housing studios and/or a community resilience hub; Ordered, that City Council declares this land surplus to city needs; Further that the Mayor is authorized to transfer deeds, easements, and/or leases for the land for affordable housing and/or a community resilience hub, subject to restrictions and conditions that the Mayor imposes to accomplish these needs. City of Northampton MASSACHUSETTS _________ In City Council, October 21, 2021 Upon the recommendation of Mayor David J. Narkewicz and Planning & Sustainability 21.343 An Order to Surplus City Land for Affordable Housing and Community Resilience Hub off Crafts Avenue WHEREAS, Consistent with the Sustainable Northampton Comprehensive Plan, Open Space, Recreation, and Multi-Use Trail Plan, Housing Needs Assessment and Strategic Housing Plan, and Unlocking Opportunity: An Assessment of Barriers to Fair Housing, the city has a comprehensive affordable housing program, including limited development, funding, regulatory incentives, and surplusing of city land; WHEREAS, Consistent with the Climate Resilience and Regeneration Plan, Community Resilience Building Findings, and Mayor’s Task Force on Panhandling, the city has a program to create a Community Resilience Hub as a downtown facility with a coordinated program for frontline communities and any residents who face chronic and acute stress due to disasters, pandemics, climate change, and other social and economic challenges. It will serve the 1% (homeless and those with severe chronic stress), the 15% (below the poverty line), the 40% (housing-burdened and under chronic stress) and the 100% (those at risk of acute adverse events), by providing access to resource, a social network, and building social resilience; WHEREAS, Downtown studio apartments are especially important to help transition people who are experiencing houselessness or who face extreme housing burdens; WHEREAS, The city has made offers for the Roundhouse and for St. John Cantius Church and explored other options for a community resilience hub, while exploring a back-up option of developing a hub in a new building, potentially co-located with affordable housing; WHEREAS, The city’s property extending from the Puchalski Municipal Office Building to the Roundhouse bus station driveway to Crafts Avenue, to the southerly most parking spaces in the city hall parking lot potentially is viable for affordable housing studios and/or a community resilience hub; Ordered, that City Council declares this land surplus to city needs; Further that the Mayor is authorized to transfer deeds, easements, and/or leases for the land for affordable housing and/or a community resilience hub, subject to restrictions and conditions that the Mayor imposes to accomplish these needs.