(Westfield – 11/21/2024) Following the release of MassINC Policy Center’s report last week on the shortage of housing units in Gateway Cities, Senator John C. Velis (D-Westfield) today highlighted the integral way that investments and housing development in Gateway Cities can alleviate the Commonwealth’s housing crisis. The study notes that the 26 Gateway Cities in Massachusetts “need to collectively build 83,000 new housing units over the next decade – double their pace of production over the last 10 years – in order to bring supply and demand into balance and stabilize prices.”
“I am incredibly proud to represent 3 Gateway Cities in Chicopee, Holyoke, and Westfield, and one of the things you learn representing Gateway Cities is how difficult it can be to spur housing development in these cities compared to the rest of the state,” said Senator Velis, who is the only Western Massachusetts Senator on the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Housing. “For decades our Commonwealth has depended on Gateway Cities to provide much of the affordable housing stock in our state, but that doesn’t come without significant challenges, especially as the cost of development goes up. This report emphasizes the need to rethink how we invest and go about housing production in our Gateway Cities, especially in Western Massachusetts. This doesn’t just need to happen for the sake of Gateway Cities and their residents themselves, it needs to happen for the sake of our entire Commonwealth.”
The report from MassINC notes that Gateway Cities face unique challenges in housing growth, and highlights that “while property values in these communities have steadily increased, the cost of constructing and operating new rental units remains much higher than the rental income such housing will generate”. This is especially true in Western Massachusetts, where the report notes that “the cost of building a new rental unit in Chicopee, Holyoke, and Springfield is nearly $300,000 more than the rental will support”.
Recommendations from the report include both state and local action to increase housing production in Gateway Cities. This includes adopting more development-friendly local zoning
regulations, establishing financing subsidies to incentivize private development, and increasing funding at the state level for rehabbing vacant and blighted properties.
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