WESTFIELD – Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., and Jayne Armington of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission presented a report on the downtown housing market to the City Council Thursday night.
“This is a draft report on market rate housing in the downtown,” Miller said, “with the intent to create a better ration of higher end housing. We’re trying to attract high-end quality housing without displacing anyone.”
Miller said that much of the current housing is categorized as affordable for residents with lower income, but there is little to attract residents with a higher income to live in the downtown. Many of those residents are currently living in homes with two, three and four bedrooms, but whose children no longer reside with them
“The goal is to make the downtown a more vibrant area where people (with a higher income) would want to live,” Miller said. “It’s a small market. We recognize that the downtown has a number of affordable housing units, but also recognize that we need to bring in a more diverse population.”
Armington said that report identifies a number of barriers to achieving that goal, including zoning regulations, construction costs, infrastructure and amenities.
“There are barriers to attracting middle-class income families to the Elm Street corridor and adjacent neighborhoods,” Armington said. “There are ways the city could close the existing market gap.”
Miller said one barrier is economic; the investment developers would have to make to create up-scale housing and the return on that investment through higher rental rates. The downtown currently does not support that economic model.
Miller and Armington described a state Department of Housing & Development program which would assist the city in fostering investment in higher rent housing. The Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIC) “gives a rent floor in contract to affordable housing which gives a rent ceiling.”
Miller said that under the HDIC program developers could create between two and 50 high rent units.
“The city would adopt a HDIC zone” to support that investment in higher-end apartment units, Miller said.
At-large Councilor Dan Allie said that rents of $1,000 or more a month are “close to what a mortgage would be” adding that the report has a lot of component parts which have to be further discussed.
Armington said the target market is comprised of residents who already own a house, but no longer need those larger residences.
“It is a small market, people who want to downsize, but who want to remain in Westfield to be near their children and grandchildren,” Armington said.
Allie asked if the study group would be available to discuss the report and further action with the Zoning, Planning & Development Committee on which he serves.
Miller said he and the study group would be available to the ZP&D Committee to further discuss the 39-parge Market Rate Housing Plan.
At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty, chairman of that committee said it would meet every month on the fourth Thursday to discuss issues such as the housing report. The third committee member is At-large Councilor Cindy Harris.
