NORTHAMPTON — The Franklin Hampshire Habitat for Humanity has opened applications for a new homeownership opportunity in Northampton for the city’s future Trailside Condos.
According to the city, energy-efficient two- and three-bedroom homes will be constructed on Cooke Avenue in Northampton, next to the Fitzgerald Lake Conservation area trailhead, which the city donated to the organization. The project will build a four-home condominium development featuring three three-story, three-bedroom homes and one one-story, two-bedroom home adaptable for wheelchair users. Construction is expected to begin next spring.
“It was the vision of the Planning Department trying to find opportunities for affordable housing and reuse of blighted properties,” Franklin Hampshire Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Megan McDonough told Reminder Publishing. “We were thrilled when they decided that homeownership was something that they’d like to see in this neighborhood, near existing residential development. It’s going to provide a really great opportunity for affordable homeownership close to the really spectacular resource of the conservation area, but also not far from resources like the grocery store and shops in the north King Street area.”
Accepted applicants will then be placed in a lottery process that will take place one to two months after the Tuesday, Nov. 24, application deadline. To apply, visit www.fhhabitat.org/apply, email apply@fhhabitat.org, mail in an application to PO Box 60642, Florence, MA 01062, or call their Florence office at 413-517-8326.
The maximum sales price for the condos will be $200,000. Applicants may qualify if they are willing to volunteer at least 250 construction hours, which will include work alongside community volunteers on general carpentry for the condos, can make housing payments between $900-$1,800 a month, and have an income within the eligible range listed on the application.
For construction hours, those with disabilities are still encouraged to apply, and Franklin-Hampshire Habitat will work with the applicant, if chosen, to find an alternative, modified sweat equity arrangement that still achieves the goals of learning how their house is built and chipping in to the overall effort.
The four-home condominium development project will feature small-scale, all-electric, deed-restricted affordable homes for first-time buyers. The homes will be about a half mile from the Big Y plaza on North King Street and the associated PVTA bus line.
“I think that it is forward-thinking to be able to be all-electric and not deal with fossil fuels,” McDonough said. “It allows for the decarbonization of our electric grid in the future. We’re also hoping to have on-site solar on these condo units, working with PV Squared in Greenfield to come up with a plan for solar and how we can work that into our budget so that the homes will have the opportunity to potentially be zero net energy, meaning they can essentially generate as much electricity as they use.”
Franklin-Hampshire Habitat will also host three upcoming information sessions for interested applicants, with the first one taking place in person on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10:30 a.m. at Lilly Library. Info sessions 2 and 3 will take place on Zoom on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and Monday, Nov. 16, at 6:30 p.m. Interested applicants can register for those sessions at fhhabitat.org/apply/.
McDonough said that, naturally, applying for this opportunity is a significant time investment because the organization requires extensive paperwork and encourages interested parties to attend one of the information sessions. She added that they consider three broad criteria when accepting applicants for the lottery: housing need, willingness to partner and ability to pay an affordable mortgage.
“It gives them the opportunity to ask questions, to really understand what’s unique about a Habitat home, and to find out if they’re a good fit,” McDonough said. “I think coming to an information session is a great way to break down and demystify this process and have people ask questions.”
McDonough added that Franklin Hampshire Habitat for Humanity has completed the construction of over 60 homes throughout the counties since starting in 1989, with about half of those built in Northampton.
“We are really excited about the long-term partnership we’ve had with the city of Northampton to find places to build. It’s often a real challenge,” McDonough said. “I’m really excited that we’ve been able to continue that tradition here. We get the most applications for any of our homes when we build in Northampton.”
