Hampden County mayors discuss housing crisis

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Mayors from Hampden County gathered alongside the State Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities to talk about housing issues facing their cities.

The mayors of Springfield, Holyoke, West Springfield, Westfield, and Agawam attended the forum, each taking about 15 minutes to detail the housing situation and needs in their unique communities.

The overwhelming issue, at its simplest, is supply. Massachusetts has a 1.6 percent vacancy rate, meaning less than two percent of the state’s for-rent and for-sale properties are available at any given time for people seeking housing. That has driven up homelessness statewide by some 30 percent and the population seeing the highest spike is seniors.

Secretary Augustus’ presentation focused on solutions to the housing crisis that are included in the ongoing Housing Bond Bill. He also brought up a few solutions his team is working on outside of the bill, some of which are unprecedented like a state investment fund that would combine public and private investments into an equity partnership that would help proposed housing projects buy down interest rates so they can continue production.

All these ideas were shared directly with local leaders in the pursuit of constructive feedback.

“These local leaders are often where the rubber meets the road. They are the first stop for a developer looking to do a project. They want to take the temperature of the city or town they are operating in, understand what the community wants in terms of projects,” said State Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus.

The Housing Bill would make unprecedented investments to boost housing supply through direct and indirect funding and features nearly 30 major policy changes that would help projects get off the ground.

It has passed in the House and has support in the Senate. Secretary Augustus told 22News they are hopeful it will pass there soon and move quickly through the conference committee and land on the governor’s desk next month.

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Duncan MacLean is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2019. Follow Duncan on X @DMacLeanWWLP and view his bio to see more of his work.

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