HOPKINTON – A state agency has granted the town an “Award for Housing Production” to commend Hopkinton’s increase in affordable housing units during 2007.
Noreen Shawcross, chief of the state’s Office of Housing and Community Development, said the agency recognized Hopkinton for expanding its affordable housing, which went up by more than 1.5 percentage points in 2007 – and for having additional affordable developments planned.
“Hopkinton is a community that could be a role model for many other cities and towns to learn about how to do this,” Shawcross said, calling the town’s efforts “extraordinary.”
With the opening of the 54-unit elderly affordable housing complex Saugatucket Springs, Hopkinton saw its low-to-moderate income housing units rise from 5.23 percent to 6.97 percent last summer. Women’s Development Corp., the Providence-based non-profit organization that led a similar project near Town Hall, has two others pending – a 20-unit development called Canonchet Woods and 30 units at the proposed Wood River Village and Bank Street Apartments.
Three other affordable developments planned include 14 units at Clarks Falls; eight units at the Rockville Mill; and 10 units at Welcome Meadow. If all five projects were completed, the town would need 10 more units to meet the state-mandated affordable housing goal of 10 percent.
“When they’re that close, I’m sure they’ll want to be one of the first towns to meet their goals,” Shawcross said. Block Island was recently named as the only Rhode Island municipality to reach the 10 percent by adding only 31 affordable houses.
Shawcross said Hopkinton stood out with some future projects co-developed by a non-profit agency and a private developer, such as Canonchet Woods. Affordable duplexes in the development are being presented by Women’s Development Corp., while the market-rate housing is by developer Robert Carr.
“Those partnerships really make sense, yet very few people are innovative enough to work with them because of course, there are always challenges when people are working with partners,” Shawcross said.
Town Planner James Lamphere also noted the importance of teamwork, and added that the town has been proactive about the issue.
“They’ve been willing to engage developers in the discussion of affordable housing projects,” said Lamphere, who has served as planner since October.
Lamphere meets regularly with the town’s five-member Affordable Housing Partnership, which he says is an important group to ensure the town meets its 10 percent goal – and maintains it over time. Other resources are available to assist the town, such as Rhode Island Housing and Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program, he added.
“You have to be very creative to get this housing built,” Lamphere said.
And while Shawcross is optimistic that Hopkinton will reach its goal before other towns, it is unclear when that will happen. The pending projects, which are all in various stages, are listed below:
• Canonchet Woods: Located off Route 3 just before Interstate 95’s Exit 2, this development is already under construction. There are 53 units total, with 33 pegged as market-rate condominiums and 20 units presented as 10 affordable duplexes.
• Clarks Falls: Fourteen of the project’s 54-units are condominiums designated for individuals with low-to-moderate incomes. The project is in its master plan stage – the second of the four-step process.
However, developer Clarks Falls Realty LLC has appealed a condition placed on the project by the town’s Planning Board’s that requires it to be developed consistently with the town’s cluster design requirements, Lamphere said. The provision calls for smaller lot sizes, resulting in homes built closer to each other – but also allowing for less land to be developed and fewer roads to be built.
State Housing Appeals Board counsel Steven Richard said an initial hearing on Dec. 11 has been continued to February or March to determine if the town’s density ordinances and subdivision regulations are consistent with local needs, as defined in the state Low and Moderate Income Housing Act.
• Wood River Village and Bank Street Apartments: The Women’s Development Corp. collaboration with the South Shore Mental Health Center would bring 30 units of low-to-moderate income housing to Hope Valley. The Planning Board has approved the project, but the Town Council denied allowing the development to tie into a local public water supply in August. (For more, see related story.)
• Rockville Mill: The first floor of the historic mill houses a post office, but the second floor could bring eight rental units. Lamphere said the mill project – still in the planning stages – is awaiting state Department of Environmental Management permission to install a well in a wetlands area.
• Welcome Meadow: About a year ago, conceptual plans were presented to the Planning Board for the construction of 18, three-bedroom duplexes – including 10 units labeled as affordable – near Palmer Circle in the area of Exit 2. Although the project hasn’t had recent activity with town’s planning office, former Town Planner Ashley V. Hahn recommended against the proposal, saying that the property’s use would be inconsistent with the 13.5-acre site’s future commercial zoning designation.