Worcester housing chief outlines production, trust-fund commitments; commission asks city manager to pursue trustee appointments and a UBI pilot

Peter Dunn, the city of Worcester’s chief development officer, told the Human Rights Commission on Monday evening that the city has recent gains in housing production but still faces financing and feasibility headwinds.

Dunn said the city saw more than 900 new units come online in 2024 and that 1,500 units were actively under construction at the time of his presentation. He described three strategic pillars—housing production, preservation and healthy homes—and said the city has used a combination of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and other sources to seed an affordable housing trust fund. "Our affordable housing trust fund has committed $18,400,000 to affordable housing projects in the city. It's 552 total units, 497 of which are affordable," Dunn said during the presentation.

Those investments included prioritizing accessible units; he said the trust fund required at least 10% ADA-accessible units in funded projects, producing 72 ADA units so far. Dunn also outlined state and federal funding streams the city uses, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, HOME-ARP, Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), and low-income housing tax credits.

Why it matters: Worcester’s housing strategy ties municipal planning, zoning changes and direct funding to a broader aim of producing, preserving and improving housing stock for low- and moderate-income residents. The commission’s subsequent actions show local civic bodies pushing the administration to…