Concord trust to use MHP technical assistance to ‘crunch the numbers’ on affordable housing subsidies

Mary Hartman, a member of the Concord Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, opened the Jan. 30 meeting by introducing Shelley Gehring of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and asking Gehring to outline the technical assistance the trust received.

Gehring said the MHP engagement will support the trust for about 9 to 10 months and that MHP views the trust as the primary client while recognizing the need to involve other local housing partners. “We are committed to be supporting you into the fall, so about 10 months,” Gehring told the trust.

The trust’s discussion focused on two immediate tasks for the technical assistance: (1) education about the costs and financing of different types of housing development, and (2) producing a method to calculate a local per-unit subsidy that captures the total local contribution (trust funds plus Community Preservation Committee, Concord Housing Foundation, town appropriations and similar local sources). Mary Hartman said the goal is to “crunch the numbers” and stop pursuing projects that do not make financial sense. “If the numbers don’t make sense, maybe you don’t do the project,” she said.

Trust members and invited partners described the expected scope and format. Rich Feeley, president of the Concord Housing Foundation and a trust member, said he wants a clear table showing per-unit costs and required subsidies with and without free land, across unit types (for example, one- and two-bedroom units) and project forms (stand-alone, garden apartments, larger developments). Feeley said the table should help the trust decide where on the income spectrum to target limited subsidy dollars.

Members discussed which organizations to involve. Several trust members said the core work should be led by the trust with close participation from Concord’s other housing entities — the Concord Housing Development Corporation, the Housing Authority, the Concord Housing Foundation and the Community Preservation Committee — and that a smaller working subgroup should do planning between trust meetings so broader meetings remain efficient. At the meeting, trust members agreed to form that planning subgroup at the trust’s February meeting.

Finance and funding sources were a recurring theme. Trust members noted multiple local sources may fund projects, not just trust reserves: Community Preservation Committee monies, the Concord Housing Foundation, potential future real-estate-transfer fees, town appropriations and already-appropriated ARPA funds. Mary Hartman said the trust should present a unified framework that reflects the town’s total contribution. The meeting included a specific figure mentioned by a trust member: $740,000 from CBC this year (reported by a trust member during the discussion); the transcript also referenced a total of $1,800,000 in that context, with the trust noting that CPC allocations and other town funding streams should be counted together when estimating per-unit subsidies.

Several participants urged that “free land” be treated as a real cost. Stefan Bader of the Concord Housing Authority said, “even free land isn’t really free in the sense that you may not be charged for it, but it’s a cost to somebody somewhere,” and asked that the analysis make that explicit.

On meeting rhythm and public engagement, the trust agreed the kickoff for the MHP-assisted effort could be a hybrid session (in person at Town House plus virtual) while most routine trust meetings will remain virtual. Gehring proposed a mix of three larger, public sessions supported by a smaller planning group meeting between trust meetings; several trust members favored that structure. The trust also discussed timing for reporting back to the broader Concord housing roundtable and for a potential fall in‑person presentation of findings to a wider audience.

The trust recorded one routine formal action at the meeting: a motion to adjourn, moved by Mike Lawson and seconded by Rich Feeley; a roll-call vote recorded Mike Lawson (yes), Rich Feeley (aye), Linda (aye) and Keith Baldwin (aye). The chair declared the meeting adjourned.

The trust identified near-term next steps: MHP will prepare a more detailed proposal for the trust’s February meeting; the trust will create a planning subgroup at that February meeting; and the trust expects MHP’s engagement to conclude in the fall with a set of per-unit subsidy calculations, recommendations about prioritization and a recommended meeting cadence to sustain the work.

The trust’s next meetings were discussed several times during the session. At one point the chair announced the next regular meeting as Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m.; at a later point a participant said the next trust meeting would be Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. The transcript shows both dates referenced; the trust plans to confirm meeting dates in follow-up communications.

Why it matters: Concord is planning reuse and redevelopment of town parcels (including the MCI site and other parcels named in local planning discussions) that could create near-term opportunities for affordable housing. The trust’s decision to focus the MHP technical assistance on a concrete per-unit subsidy methodology and financial “number crunching” aims to give the town a consistent framework to evaluate projects and to coordinate town funding sources when proposals come forward.

Sources: Remarks and exchanges during the Jan. 30, 2025 Concord Municipal Affordable Housing Trust meeting, including comments by Mary Hartman (Trust member), Shelley Gehring (Massachusetts Housing Partnership), Rich Feeley (president, Concord Housing Foundation), Mike Lawson (Trust member), Keith Baldwin (Trust member), Carlin Reed (Finance Committee member), Stefan Bader (Concord Housing Authority) and Liz Rust (Select Board member).