Brittney Aponte and her daughter, Amia Aponte, stand in the kitchen of the new home they were selected to purchase through Way Finders’s City of Homes program.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — Standing on the porch of a newly built three-bedroom house on Highland Street, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno turned the handle on a bingo cage, sending the green and white balls inside clattering as it spun. Opening the cage door, he fished out a ball at random, cracked it open and read the slip of paper inside.
“Brittney M. Aponte,” Sarno called out to the crowd of three dozen people gathered on the lawn. Brittney Aponte raised her hand, coming forward along with her teen daughter. She had just won an opportunity to buy the property where she stood — her first home.
The Highland Street home was one of the first two properties ready to be purchased through the City of Homes initiative from Way Finders, a nonprofit affordable housing organization. Niulka C. Hernandez-Batista’s name was drawn for the opportunity to purchase the other home, on Terrence Street.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno pulls a name in the lottery for a chance to buy a new affordable home.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
Through the City of Homes initiative, which is named after one of Springfield’s monikers, Way Finders purchases vacant, blighted city-owned properties in residential neighborhoods. With the help of community organizations and state programs, Way Finders either renovates the homes or demolishes and rebuilds them. The properties are then available for sale at discounted prices to first-time homebuyers through a lottery process, managed by the Springfield Office of Housing. The people in the lottery are income-qualified for a mortgage but must still go through the process of purchasing the home.
Standing in the living room of the Highland Street home, Seneca Slaughter, owner of Sage Home Builders, said both houses were in such a condition that they needed to be demolished. Speaking of the Terrance Street house, he said, “That one was a bigger project than this one. That one was actually caving in.”
Sage Home Builders is working on a number of houses in the City of Homes program. Considering the common thread he has seen in these projects, Slaughter said, “I’m seeing neighborhood improvement. I’m seeing neighbors being excited by something new replacing what was there.”
Both the Highland and Terrance Street houses, designed by Kuhn Riddle Architects & Designers, have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a walk-in closet in the master bedroom. At approximately 1,400 square feet of living space, the houses are outfitted energy-efficient ductless mini-split heat and air conditioning. The kitchens came with a refrigerator, dishwasher and range, while there were hookups for a washer and dryer.
In total, the City of Homes program has purchased nine properties, including two two-family homes. A lottery for a Union Street property will take place in September, and a Los Angelos Street duplex will be ready for purchase in late 2027.
Now that the first two properties have gone through the City of Homes program, Way Finders President and CEO Keith Fairey said, “I think we learned a lot about how to do this, not only how to identify homes, how to finance them, so we’ll bring that forward. I feel good about that.”
However, Fairey said, “The challenge is real… for doing this work. It cost more to build this home than we’re going to sell it for.” The demolition and construction of the Highland Street house cost about $500,000, and the sale price of the house is $210,000, while it is worth about $350,000 in the current real estate market. “So, this homeowner is moving in with all that equity.”
Fairey continued, “And the only way we’re able to do that, this affordable housing opportunity, is with support from the state of Massachusetts and the Mass Housing Neighborhood Stabilization Program.” The Neighborhood Stabilization Program offers capital grant funds for redevelopment, reconstruction, renovation or repair of substandard or blighted properties. The program was funded by a $4 million grant from the Mass Mutual Foundation, $2.6 million from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, $500,000 from the city of Springfield and $300,000 from the Baystate Health Foundation.
“This is not an economic investment for them. This is a mission investment; this is an investment in the city and this neighborhood,” Fairey said.
With construction costs increasing due to inflation and tariffs, Fairey said, “We have a model that’s working right now. It will require us to think about creative ways to do it. Part of that is where you get the money; part of that is how you build it.” He said Way Finders is exploring more cost-efficient ways to build homes, including modular building and working with a local contractor. “Could we have built this more cheaply? Absolutely. But we wanted this home to last,” he said.
Brittney Aponte said she applied to the program because her mother wanted her to have a home of her own. The process was relatively straightforward, she said, explaining that she applied on the Way Finders website and obtained a first-time homebuyer certificate. A Springfield native, she said she has been saving money toward buying a home in the city. The entire process took about five months. She applied for the lottery to buy a different city-owned property but was not selected.
“To hear my name… it’s just so many emotions,” said Brittney Aponte. “To own my own home, to decorate it however I want, to do what I want, you know, it’s just exciting.” She will live in the home with her daughter, Amia Aponte, their cat and bunny.
“It’s exciting, it’s a big step and… a new chapter,” said Amia Aponte. “I am super proud and the house is so beautiful.”
Brittney Aponte said her advice to other people going through the process was, “Don’t give up. Just keep applying, keep submitting everything you need to submit, and eventually your name will be called.”
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