Kingston committee reviews public mixed‑income development model to build permanent affordable housing

Joel (presenter) told the Unity Development and Housing Committee that the city is exploring a ‘‘public mixed‑income development’’ model intended to produce permanently affordable housing using local tools rather than federal or state subsidy.

The proposal would pair long‑term public ownership with low‑cost public debt and a revolving loan fund that would make construction financing available, Joel said. ‘‘There’s 3 ingredients, to make this model work. So number 1 ... long term public ownership ... Number 2, there’s low cost debt ... and third, there’s a revolving loan fund,’’ he said.

The model targets mixed‑income projects that include deeply affordable units alongside market‑rate units. Joel described an ‘‘ideal size’’ of about 100 units but said the model can scale to smaller projects and that each project would be mixed income. He said the affordability would be permanent and the design ‘‘will last for generations.’’ The presentation said a…