HOUSING & HEALTH DIRECTIONS

IN MASSACHUSETTS

Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development

Department of Housing and Community Development

Housing Opportunity 2014: Healthy Housing, Healthy Places

ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing

May 14th, 2014

Our “Manhattan Project”: New Capital

Where does housing add value? Energy; Transportation, Health

Atom Collider, US DOE Oak Ridge Laboratory, 1943

Two Approaches

• Measure and value the positive economic

impact of living in dense, mixed-use places

with public transit and complete streets:

> Planning Ahead for Growth

• “Value Capture” of incremental value added

by housing to specific health problems to

attract new investment in housing:

> Housing & Health Initiatives

Innovation Economy – Talent is the Key

Lifestyle Shift?

Statewide Housing Production Goal

8

Reasonably dense, multi-family units

Reasonably located, near employment

opportunities and transit nodes

Reasonably priced, for middle and moderate

income families and individuals

10,000 multi-family units per year

The 4 Core Elements of Our Strategy

1 Identify

Promising places for growth that have community

support, are consistent with regional considerations

and align with the Sustainable Development

Principles

2 CreatePrompt and predictable zoning and permitting in

those places (both local and state)

3 InvestIn public infrastructure needed to support growth

4 MarketTo businesses and developers interested in locating

and growing in the Commonwealth

IDENTIFY - Areas to Develop and Preserve

Metro North is a transit-connected region of cities and towns with the

walkable “squares” & “corners” that can absorb growth – including

Massachusetts “gateway cities”.

Box District project in progress, Chelsea, MA, 2014 photo landscape architecture magazine

CREATE Comprehensive Zoning Tools

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• As-of-right zoning incentives, with

location and density criteria

• Chapter 40R/Smart Growth

• Compact Neighborhoods

• Expedited local permitting

(43D)

• Comprehensive Permits (40B)

• Overrides local rules if

community has not produced

enough affordable housing

• Option for “friendly” 40B with

community & developer

working together

INVEST – MassWorks Program

Initiative: Healthy Community Design

Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) are now being

used in many Development Cabinet Agencies.

Examples include:

• MassDOT’s “Healthy Transportation Compact”

through which three Secretariats collaborate and all

transit development projects have HIAs.

• The HIA on the new DHCD Community Investment

Tax Credit.

• MHIC’s Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund

described next will also use an HIA.

Initiative: Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund

The Commonwealth, through Mass Housing Investment Corp (MHIC) &

Conservation Law Foundation is targeting TOD and Healthy Housing among

market developers.

MHIC is capitalizing a $30M equity capital fund for projects that would not take

early risk without hedge. DHCD has supported this project with a $2M “Top Loss”

resource.

Health Impact Assessments component will put projects in a position to realize

increased upside through health impact data as “value capture” opportunities start.

Initiative: Equitable TOD Accelerator Fund

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is capitalizing a $10M fund for

pre-development for non-profit developers pursuing affordable housing at

transit oriented development sites.

EOHED considering allocation of $2M in MassWorks infrastructure funding

for a “Top Loss” resource for this fund in manner comparable to the Bay

Area TOD fund.

Initiative: Social Innovation Financing

Commonwealth and intermediary partners are using a SIF Fund for “value

capture” of avoided costs to re-invest in innovative service models.

(Homeless veteran outreach Photo: Daily Hampshire Gazette, 2014)

Initiative: Aging-in-Place / State Public Housing

DHCD / EOEA / MassHealth are exploring using mixed-finance capital

resources to capture value of aging in place: current SHI program that

prevents turnover into LTC helps to avoid $30,000 in State Medicaid costs.

Elder service programming, Springfield Housing Authority, MA

Thank you

Department of Housing & Community

Development

100 Cambridge Street

Boston, MA 02114

Arthur Jemison

Deputy Undersecretary

(617) 573-1112