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Selectmen accept non-profit's offer for land to build affordable home
A long three years after its inception, Needham Interfaith Habitat for Humanity has finally acquired the piece of town land it needs to realize its plan to build a home for a low-income family.
Selectmen unanimously approved the group's $20,000 bid for the piece of town-owned land at the corner of Bancroft and Brookline streets.
"I'm ecstatic," said Tim McCleary, who has been heading up the group along with Rev. Caroline Edge of Carter United Memorial Methodist Church.
The group's battle for the land proved to be a controversial one, not only because of the concerns of some neighbors of the property, but also in large part because Habitat had hoped the town would simply donate the land, as had been done in some other area communities.
Tough budget times, however, made some officials reluctant to do that.
"We always have concerns when we're taking an asset of the town," said Selectmen Chairman John Bulian.
In May, Town Meeting finally approved a proposal, calling for the parcel to be sold or leased to a nonprofit organization for the purpose of building a low- or moderate-income home - exactly what Needham Habitat had been hoping to build.
The Finance Committee opposed the proposal, in part because while the Habitat project would help Needham towards its goal of meeting state-mandated levels of affordable housing, it would only produce one unit of such housing when the town needed around 600. In addition, a low-income home would mean a loss of tax revenue for the town and the restrictions Town Meeting approved would prevent the town from realizing the full value of the land, estimated at close to $400,000. A Habitat bid could have conceivably been as low as $1.
"We were looking at it from a financial perspective," said Finance Committee Chairman Lita Young.
The selectmen did, in fact, receive only one proposal, and it was from Habitat, but it was for $20,000.
McCleary said the group decided upon the amount after extensive discussions with the town.
"We felt it was in good faith, and the number was right," McCleary said. "We just felt this is not the last project we're going to do, and we want to form a good partnership with the town."
Selectmen accepted the offer with almost no discussion.
Bulian said he was comfortable with the development.
"This is a small parcel of land that is best used to make this kind of statement," Bulian said, explaining that the Habitat home would help to show the state that Needham was indeed a community that was welcoming to affordable housing. That would make it easier for the town to fight off developers responding to state-incentives to build affordable housing in suburban towns.
McCleary said it will likely be some months before the project begins.
"It'll take several months to work out the details," McCleary said.
In the meantime the group will work to raise the money it needs to build the house. That is likely about $150,000, a budget that assumes donations of materials and service.
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I'd love to break ground in spring 2007," McCleary said, adding that if things go exceptionally well, he would be happy to start in spring 2006.
The Needham group is affiliated with the Greater Boston Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit that builds, mostly through volunteer labor, homes for those who could not otherwise afford to own one.
Needham housing advocate and Interfaith Habitat member Rich Gatto said he looks forward to the volunteer opportunities this project will create for Needham's young people. Likely, he said, the whole house will be built by Needham residents.
He said, "There won't be a lack of volunteers."
Valentina Zic can be reached at vzic@cnc.com.
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