Local and state elected officials and affordable-housing advocates crowded into three large reception rooms at the Golda Meir Hour on August 6 to celebrate as Governor Maura Healey signed the recently passed Affordable Homes Act. Hailed as “the most ambitious legislation in Massachusetts history to tackle the state’s greatest challenge — housing costs,” according to the State House and the Governor’s office, the legislation provides $5.16 billion in bond expenditures and tax credits to incentivize housing construction. The new law also offers 49 new policy initiatives.
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller told the audience that the Golda Meir House was a fitting place for the signing because it served as “partners and role models for how the Feds, the State, cities and town and nonprofits work together to create broad, affordable housing that meets the needs of a diverse community of older adults.” Governor Maura Healey, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus underscored the significance of that collaboration.
Golda Meir House, on Stanton Avenue in Auburndale, is a mix of apartments for seniors at least 62 years old, at a range of incomes including those as below and at 30% of the Area Median Income. It also includes units for “chronically homeless” and people younger than 62 with chronic disabilities, and for New England Conservatory graduates who provide enrichment programs at Golda Meir. Many of the residents attended the signing, and one woman, who identified herself as Mercedes, described her long struggle with homelessness and the complete turn-around in her life with her permanent apartment.
Governor Healey, Lt. Governor Driscoll, and Secretary Augustus stressed the importance of workforce housing in Massachusetts, noting that Massachusetts offers so many educational and economic opportunities for people, but the high cost of housing drives them away. Gov. Healey described the Act as the…