By Keith Regan, Contributing Writer
Northborough – The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) will ask Town Meeting to set aside $500,000 worth of funds for the Northborough Affordable Housing Corporation (NAHC), hoping to expand on the success the organization had building apartments for local seniors.
CPC Chair John Campbell said the funds could be used to develop additional rental units or to buy land to construct homes to be sold. In either scenario, the units would meet the state definition of affordability and qualify for inclusion in the town’s affordable housing count.
“At this point we are leaving both options open,” Campbell said. “Due to the excellent experience of NAHC, we felt they could be trusted to move forward and find the best way to spend these additional funds.”
Last year, the town opened four apartments built by the NAHC on Centre Drive. The town funded that $600,000 project exclusively with CPA monies.
Because there is not yet a specific proposal for housing, voters will be asked to set aside the funds for future release to the NAHC.
The housing funding is one of several articles the CPC will present to Town Meeting next month.
Projects being proposed in the historic preservation category include $12,500 for signets in several of the town’s historical villages as well as funds to do radar-assisted research at the town’s oldest cemeteries to determine exactly what is beneath the ground.
Recreation projects include additional work to restore basketball courts at schools around town and renovation of the playground at the Marguerite E. Peaslee School on Maple Street.
The housing proposal may well be debated at Town Meeting, with Campbell noting it has already engendered significant discussion at CPC meetings.
“We’ve had several open hearings and this came up at all of them,” he said.
