NORTHAMPTON — A housing lottery for Prospect Place, an affordable apartment community currently under renovation is now open for interested applicants.
Located at 737 Bridge Rd. in Northampton, Valley Community Development and HMR Properties are now accepting lottery applications for the new affordable housing units that will be located in what is the old Northampton Nursing Home building.
The new affordable apartment community will feature 60 affordable apartments, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with all utilities included and a range of amenities for residents. In total, there will be 10 studio apartment units, 14 one-bedroom units, 31 two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units available in all.
Regional Senior Property Manager for HMR Liz Reno told Reminder Publishing this lottery was another great opportunity for people to apply and get a chance at new affordable housing units. HMR and Valley Community Development just finished another local affordable housing project in the recently finished construction at a Laurel Street property in the city.
“Valley is very committed to developing affordable housing opportunities, particularly in Hampshire County,” said Reno. “HMR is doing the lottery and then we’ll do the property management once the project is complete.”
For full lottery details, how to apply, information session dates and eligibility information, visit tinyurl.com/yz75ncwt.
Reno described the new site as a “hodgepodge” of units and added it is always a relief to be moving toward the establishment of new affordable units in what is a constantly challenging world to create affordable housing in.
“Developing affordable housing is an unbelievable task. They have to go through zoning, then piece together from a million different places these funds,” Reno explained. “One of the things they’ve done with this development, partly because it was a nursing home, but also because there is a huge need for it, is there’s a significant amount of units that will be handicap accessible.”
Reno said while Massachusetts has been better than other states in trying to address the housing crisis and finding new housing opportunities for vulnerable populations, it still can be a daunting challenge due to all the moving pieces part of the process.
“New development or reconstruction of existing development is a big push right now as well as handing out vouchers to folks in order to help them get out of those shelters. I think it’s a really hard thing to do. You have to have some significant capital to work with. These projects take anywhere from between three and 10 years to develop. From purchasing to zoning, to final closing and then construction,” Reno said.
Reno said their application for the lottery is purposely “short and sweet” as a way to help eliminate the barriers often seen for people looking to secure an affordable housing opportunity.
“We want to try and get as many people to know about the opportunity as possible. We’re trying to break down barriers to affordable housing,” Reno said.
There will be two information sessions open for those interested in the lottery process set for Tuesday, June 17 and Wednesday, July 30, from 6-7 p.m. Both sessions will be available in hybrid format through Zoom and the in-person option taking place at the Forbes Library community room.
Reno said the information sessions are great opportunities for those interested to get their foot in the door, learn about the opportunity and how they can apply for the chance at the new affordable housing units.
“I think what you can gain from attending one of those information sessions is what we have to offer and a little bit more about the process and the details of the process of this housing lottery. But also, it’s just kind of a general overview of how these things work and how you know learn what rights people have. You have a right to reasonable accommodation, you have the right to translated documents, you have a right to a lot of different things that I think people don’t necessarily always know about,” said Reno.
Reno encouraged interested parties to reach out to HMR to learn more and hopes the lottery application reaches far and wide to those who could benefit from the opportunity. For more information on the lottery process or to enter an application visit tinyurl.com/yz75ncwt.
