State Housing Secretary visited Northampton to tour apartment complex, discuss Affordable Homes Act

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – State Housing Secretary Ed Agustus visited Northampton on Monday to tour a mixed-income housing development.

Secretary Augustus toured the North Commons at Village Hill, saying this kind of project is exactly what the state wants to be supporting to boost affordable housing supply. The North Commons is the finishing touch on the sprawling mixed-income community built on the grounds of the former state hospital. It caters to all income levels, mixing demographics in a well-equipped, comprehensive community.

22News asked him to characterize the state of the housing situation here in Massachusetts as a whole, and he added some of the consequences of not supporting more projects like this one.

“I think it is a crisis. No matter what sector of the housing sector you talk about there just isn’t enough of it. That creates prices that leave people behind,” said Secretary Augustus.

During his roundtable meeting with community stakeholders in the Village Hill project, he also heard feedback on state funding programs and new legislative action that are meant to support developments like Village Hill across the state, including ways to keep existing properties affordable. Some of that feedback, though, illustrated that just because a program is effective at boosting housing in eastern Massachusetts doesn’t mean it works here in western Massachusetts.

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