Finance committee does not recommend $2.8M CPC grant for Charles River Center supportive housing

The Needham Finance Committee voted 5–3 on April 30 to not recommend Article 22, which would have committed $2,800,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to a Charles River Center affordable and supportive housing project.

The request, presented by Community Preservation Committee co-chair Mary Callahan and the project team, asks the town to commit $2.8 million so the developer can include a town commitment in a project eligibility letter application to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC). “This project does exactly that,” Mary Callahan said, describing the proposal as a response to unmet needs for low-income housing and housing for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Bill Grogan of the Town planning office for urban affairs explained the EOHLC step: “We will be submitting what’s called the project eligibility letter application to EOHLC, and that is a prerequisite for us to be able to submit a comprehensive permit application to the zoning board of appeals.” He said the June project-eligibility submission must include commitment letters from the town and other anticipated funding sources.

A Charles River Center representative told the committee the nonprofit has invested about $6,200,000 in the project to date and that the center needs a town commitment to stay on the planned timeline: “We have a lot of skin in the game. We have, you know, $6,200,000 to date that we’ve put into this project.” The project team and CPC proposed a sunset clause that would require committed financing by Sept. 30, 2028, or the CPC could reclaim the funds.

Finance committee members who opposed recommending the warrant article cited two primary concerns: depletion of CPC housing reserves and the choice of a grant rather than a loan. Multiple members said they supported the project's objectives but not the timing or the grant structure. One committee member summarized the view held by several members: the town’s $2.8 million would be a large up-front commitment that could deplete funds needed for other local housing priorities, including work already planned for the Needham Housing Authority.

Other questions during the meeting concerned local preference and how units would be allocated. Project staff said they will request up to 70% of the affordable units be set aside for Needham residents at lease-up, but that percentage is subject to EOHLC’s affirmative fair housing and marketing review and therefore cannot be guaranteed. The representative also said most residents who would receive on-site supportive services would need Department of Developmental Services (DDS) eligibility, and DDS maintains referral and placement control for those slots.

Committee members debated whether the town could supply the $2.8 million as a loan rather than a grant. Several members and a CPC consultant had previously recommended a loan; committee members said they believed a loan would allow the town to recover funds over time. Project representatives said a loan option was discussed earlier but that the town currently lacks a mechanism to issue the kind of subordinated loan the project would require and that the project needed a firm local commitment to meet EOHLC’s June submission window.

After discussion, a committee member moved that the Finance Committee not recommend adoption of Article 22; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with five members in favor and three opposed. The committee did not adopt a condition or revision to the CPC request; the project team indicated it will proceed to Town Meeting seeking the funding as written.

What matters: The committee’s non-recommendation does not prevent the article from appearing at Town Meeting. The project team said a town commitment is needed in June to maintain eligibility for state housing funding opportunities opening in November; without that commitment, the team said, the project would likely be delayed at least a year.