WINCHESTER, Mass. — Massachusetts officials on Oct. 5 announced nearly $200 million in awards to build affordable homes across the state and celebrated Waterfield Commons, a 56-unit transit‑oriented development planned next to the Winchester Center commuter rail station.

The awards announced by Governor Maura Healey and Secretary Augustus will support approximately 1,300 homes across 21 sites statewide, state officials said at a ceremony hosted by Michelle Prior, chair of the Winchester Select Board. “We are building housing. We are building housing, and we're gonna keep we're gonna keep building housing,” Governor Maura Healey said.

Waterfield Commons is slated to provide 56 apartments next to the newly reopened Winchester Center commuter rail station. Developer Causeway Civico (represented at the event by David “Dave” Trigorth of Causeway Development) said 40 of the 56 apartments will be affordable to households at or below 60 percent of area median income; some units will be targeted at lower levels, including 30 percent of area median income, officials said. Trigorth described the project as “passive house design and construction, all electric, energy efficient, and really built for the future.”

Why this matters: State officials said the awards flow from the administration’s housing agenda, including a recent expansion of low‑income housing tax credits and the $5 billion Affordable Homes Act passed by the Legislature. Secretary Augustus said more than 6,000 units are now under construction or rehabilitation because of those combined tools and that the current round of awards will “touch communities from Ayr to Boston” and from Cambridge to Worcester. He described the grants as one component of a broader strategy that also includes accessory dwelling unit permitting, a momentum fund for predevelopment, and surplus‑state‑land disposal to create more housing opportunities.

Details and context: Town leaders said Waterfield Commons took years of planning, multiple town meeting votes and a townwide referendum. Michelle Prior said the town’s work on housing included creating an Affordable Housing Trust in 2019, passing an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) bylaw in 2022, and adopting the Community Preservation Act in 2024. State and local officials also noted recent zoning changes to implement the MBTA Communities requirements and create mixed‑use districts on North Main Street.

State officials provided a partial list of award recipients and unit counts mentioned at the event: a combined total of nearly 1,300 homes across 21 sites, with specific projects and unit counts cited by Secretary Augustus including 114 units in Ayr (Devonscrest Village), 354 units across six projects in Boston, 95 units in Cambridge, 96 units in East Hampton, 59 units in Foxborough, 61 units in Framingham, 50 in Hadley, 40 in Holyoke, 44 in Lee, 20 in Malden, 27 in New Bedford, 96 in Stoughton, 44 in Topsfield, 40 in Wareham, 48 in Worcester and 56 units in Winchester at Waterfield Commons. The secretary said roughly 90 percent of the units funded in this round will be guaranteed affordable for seniors and families in 16 communities.

Officials described additional statewide tools: an increase in the annual cap for low‑income housing tax credits enacted in 2023; an administration Momentum Fund that Secretary Augustus said has yielded predevelopment for nearly 500 units whose financial returns will be reinvested; and an inventory of more than 450 acres of surplus state‑owned land that the administration estimated could support about 3,500 housing units.

Local reaction and next steps: Winchester officials and the project developer framed Waterfield Commons as transit‑oriented and supportive of local goals to expand affordable housing near the commuter rail. Senator Jason Lewis and Representative Michael Day thanked the Healey administration and the Legislature for funding and policy changes that enabled the project and other local efforts. No formal vote or permit decision occurred at the event; the appearance was an announcement of grant awards and a ceremonial milestone. Governor Healey and other officials said they would remain available for questions and photographs after the program; no media questions were taken onstage.

Quotes: “This project reflects Winchester's vision for the future of this key transit oriented site,” Dave Trigorth said. “Forty of our 56 apartments will be affordable to families earning 60% of area median income.” Governor Healey said, “We are building housing, and we're gonna keep building housing. We're gonna lower housing costs when we do that.”

Implementation notes: Town officials noted the Waterfield project required negotiations with the developer and the MBTA and multiple local approvals before reaching this stage. Officials described the project as part of a broader local pipeline of large and small affordable housing projects; specific construction timelines and final financing close dates were not specified at the event.

Ending: State and local leaders framed the awards and Waterfield Commons as part of an ongoing, multi‑tool strategy to increase housing production in Massachusetts. Officials invited the public to review project renderings and said additional project details would be available from the town planning office and the developer as the permit and construction process continues.