NORTHAMPTON — Local officials took a tour Tuesday afternoon of a newly constructed housing complex that has brought 53 affordable rental units to the city.
The North Commons at Village Hill was developed by The Community Builders Inc. of Boston. It is the fourth affordable housing project the company has built at Village Hill, the site of the former State Hospital campus.
“We’ve been doing this work since 1964,” said Rachana Crowley, The Community Builders’ regional development manager.
North Commons was completed last year at a total development cost of $19.6 million, and most of the apartments are now occupied.
On the tour were Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, City Council members Karen Foster, Jamila Gore and Marissa Elkins, state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton.
“Nothing makes me happier than seeing affordable housing, particularly for families,” said Sciarra.
Of the building’s 53 units, 12 are for residents earning less than 30% of area median income (AMI), three units are for those earning less than 50% AMI, 24 are for residents earning less than 60% AMI, and 14 are for residents earning less than 80% of AMI. Of these units, 12 have been set aside for clients of the Department of Mental Health and the Massachusetts Rehab Commission.
All utilities are included in the rent for all units.
“There’s huge economic diversity within this building,” Crowley said.
Furthermore, of the 53 units, eight are studios, 19 are one-bedrooms, 22 are two-bedrooms, and four are three-bedroom units.
There’s also an indoor gym, a community room and a playground on the grounds. The building was built to a Passive Housing standard, and is set to be the first multifamily building certified to this energy efficiency standard in western Massachusetts.
Almost all of the units in the building have been leased, with a number of residents moving in on the day of the tour. This was mostly accomplished through a lottery last fall, where about 400 people applied.
“Which I think really speaks to the housing crisis,” said Julia Scannell, The Community Builders’ development project manager.
Those interested in applying to rent in the building can do so at northcommonsapts.com.
An official ribbon cutting for the building is planned for this spring.
Wayne Feiden, the city’s director of planning and sustainability, has been involved with the Village Hill project for his entire career, and he said that almost all of it has been built out. He also said that the 53 units from the building have been important for meeting the original unit goal for affordable housing at Village Hill.
One of the new tenants at North Commons is Tammy Howard, who moved in with her 20-year-old son last week into one of the two-bedroom units.
“It seems to be a great place,” Howard said. “We’re glad that it was here for us.”
Previously their rent in Northampton was $2,700 a month and they were facing eviction. At North Commons, however, their rent is less than $1,200, utilities included.
“It means that we can eat, we can pay our bills and we should be able to save some money on top of that,” she said.
Howard and her son also have a dog, and she said that being able to have their dog in their apartment was “huge.”
“We’re just happy that there’s finally some place that people can afford in Northampton,” Howard said. “We wish that other communities had this opportunity.”
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.