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Concord housing roundtable reviews trust funds, MCI reuse planning and housing projects
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Summary
Officials and housing partners reviewed the Concord Municipal Affordable Housing Trust's finances and priorities, updates on the Assabet River Bluff project, state-led MCI Concord reuse planning, several town-owned parcels including Peabody School, and maintenance and capital needs at Concord Housing Authority properties.
Keith Bergman, chair of the Concord Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, told the roundtable on Jan. 14 that the town’s housing production plan "remains the town's guiding policy document on affordable housing" and updated attendees on the trust’s funding and priorities as Concord faces new redevelopment opportunities such as the reuse of the former MCI Concord site.
The Trust reported a cumulative $5.1 million set aside since 2019, with $3.1 million awarded in grants and a current uncommitted balance of about $2.0 million. Bergman said the trust has used a mix of sources including $500,000 in town ARPA funds and community preservation funds, and noted that the Community Preservation Committee recently recommended $740,000 for the trust at the June 2025 annual town meeting.
Bergman and other roundtable participants described several near-term priorities. The trust has funded and tracked multiple projects: De Novo 40B received $392,000 in sewer-improvement fee relief (about $7,682 per affordable unit for 51 units); Assabet River Bluff was awarded $1,650,000 in trust funds to support five affordable units (about $330,000 per unit from trust funds, with other local and outside funds also applied); and the trust has reserved a priority interest in about 1.4 acres of surplus state property at 91B Main Street for potential affordable development. Bergman said the trust has asked the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) to provide technical assistance to help set spending priorities and methodology for per-unit subsidy calculations.
Julie McClure, president of the Concord Housing Development Corporation, described Assabet River Bluff as a collaborative, partially "friendly sale" site that abuts the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail and will preserve several acres in open space while adding housing. McClure said the project pairs Habitat for Humanity (as the project sponsor for several ownership units) with the Housing Authority, which will manage two affordable rental units on the same parcel. "If you want to lift a hammer, come and join us," McClure said, describing planned volunteer and school outreach.
Megan Zamuto, deputy town manager, briefed the roundtable on municipal land-use planning tied to several large sites. "This site is currently under the care and control of the Department of Corrections," Zamuto said of MCI Concord, and she described the town’s ongoing coordination with the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAM). The town has an advisory board for MCI Concord and has issued a request for proposals for consultant planning, market study and feasibility work funded by a $725,000 legislative earmark; Zamuto said the town aims to have a consultant on board by mid-February. On 2229 Main Street, an advisory task force recommended that the Select Board move toward a path that could include future acquisition under specific conditions; that item will be on upcoming Select Board agendas for further public discussion.
Roundtable members also discussed other municipal parcels, including the Peabody School property (vacated when a new middle school opens) and a broader land-use matrix the town is creating to match municipal needs (public works, public safety, housing, commercial) to potential sites. The Select Board is preparing a working-group charge to guide community deliberations and the timetable for proposals.
Stefan Bader of the Concord Housing Authority (CHA) summarized capital and operational needs at existing public housing. "We have a little over 130 units that we own and manage," Bader said, and the authority is conducting a physical needs assessment of its LLC-held properties to establish a 20-year replacement fund schedule. Bader also said state capital funding will cover replacement of a failing septic system at Strawberry Hill Road and that the authority received more than $1.1 million in state funds to install air-source heat pumps and provide air conditioning at Everett Gardens senior housing.
Andrew Boardman, chair of the Planning Board, said the town submitted its MBTA community district compliance application on Dec. 26 and is "waiting on additional state feedback on the formal components." The Planning Board plans zoning articles for the spring town meeting including PRD (planned residential development) bonus revisions intended to encourage workforce units, floodplain and sign bylaw corrections, accessory retail sales rules in industrial zones, and ADU (accessory dwelling unit) bylaw revisions to align with recent state law and expand by-right ADU size.
Smaller initiatives were also reported: the Concord Housing Foundation awarded a small grant to the Council on Aging to pilot moving-assistance aid for residents who can cover monthly housing costs but lack savings to cover upfront moving expenses; the Community Preservation Committee reported it received fewer applications this year, leaving the committee capable of recommending funds for housing priorities; and the Concord Housing Development Corporation described plans to finalize conveyance of a two-family building at Assabet River Bluff to the Housing Authority.
The roundtable did not take new formal funding votes at this session. Participants agreed on next steps that include launching MHP technical assistance, adding clarifying footnotes to project cost tables, continuing outreach on MCI Concord and 2229 Main Street, and returning to the roundtable in roughly three months ahead of town meeting and related hearings.
