Housing Nantucket reports on house recycling, Lease to Locals and Wiggles Way; trust approves OPM grant extension

Housing Nantucket director Anne Cuspa delivered three substantive status reports to the Affordable Housing Trust: a completed house‑recycling rental at 66 Poetryk Avenue, the second year of the Lease to Locals conversion program, and tenant selection and occupancy status for Wiggles Way (31 Fairgrounds Road). After the updates, the trust approved a grant to extend owner’s project manager services for Wiggles Way.

66 Poetryk Avenue (house recycling) Housing Nantucket said the house‑recycling project converted an existing dwelling into a two‑bedroom, two‑bath year‑round rental targeted for households at or below 50% AMI. The tenant moved in March 1. Anne Cuspa reported the project completed in February, features solar panels and three rentals on the site that share generation benefits, and provides 2,387 square feet of living space. The project budgeted at $560,000 came in modestly higher, largely because of septic and infrastructure upgrades; Cuspa described a construction cost of about $257 per square foot. The Affordable Housing Trust was identified as the major funder (Cuspa said the trust’s grant was approximately $450,000); Housing Nantucket supplemented with fundraising and a Community Foundation grant to cover overages.

Lease to Locals program (year two) Cuspa reported on the town’s Lease to Locals conversion pilot, which uses existing underutilized private housing stock to create long‑term year‑round leases while providing owner incentives. Key details reported: program rules require properties located on Nantucket, a new lease of 12 months or longer, rent caps and income eligibility tiers (the trust funds households up to 175% AMI for the program), and at least one household member must be employed year‑round on Nantucket. Funding for the second year included Affordable Housing Trust dollars and a $100,000 contribution from a private Remain fund that was used to support households who did not meet the trust’s AMI threshold or needed other assistance.

Year‑one results (as presented): 22 properties participated; 54 people were housed with 46 qualified tenant households; average monthly rent reported was $3,173. Year‑two activity expanded the pipeline and the combined two‑year totals Cuspa presented were 34 properties, 81 people housed and 68 qualified tenants, with a combined average monthly rent just above $3,000. Cuspa said some eligible owners did not renew because a stepped‑down incentive plus a 5% maximum allowable rent increase did not cover their carrying costs; she said roughly 14 of the original 22 units had renewed to date and that 20 of 22 were eligible for renewal. The trust asked Housing Nantucket and Placemate for more granular breakdowns (unit sizes, household sizes, renewals vs. new placements) and staff said they would provide those figures before the next meeting.

Wiggles Way (31 Fairgrounds Road) update Housing Nantucket provided a construction and lease‑up update for Wiggles Way, a 22‑unit mixed‑income multifamily development. Cuspa said units are being shown and leases signed; the town has certificates of occupancy for most units, and two COs are being held until a required sidewalk installation and final planning sign‑off are complete. As of April 14, Cuspa said 73% of units had certificates of occupancy in hand; she also said several municipal employees were among the households selected and that staff is pairing tenant household size and needs to the right available unit while managing timing of COs and move‑ins. Staff described the rent setting method used for restricted units: compare what a household at a given AMI could afford (30% of income) with a discounted market rent (typically 85% of market) and default to the lower of the two to set the restricted rent.

Closing cost assistance update Trust staff reported that HUD published new AMI figures on April 1; for a family of four Cuspa said the new AMI is $163,500. The closing cost assistance application will be updated to reflect those figures and other technical corrections in the application packet.

Owner’s project manager grant for Wiggles Way The trust approved an extension payment for the owner’s project manager overseeing Wiggles Way construction (the trust voted to authorize payment of $49,000 and to permit the chair or his designee to execute the related grant/agreement). The motion to approve the execution passed by roll call vote.

Next steps and follow up Trust members requested a more detailed breakdown of Lease to Locals participants (unit/bedroom size, renewals, household sizes), clarifications on which pipeline properties have signed leases vs. are in the pipeline, and confirmation of outstanding accounting for remaining program funds. Housing Nantucket committed to provide the requested breakdowns and a copy of the slides distributed during the meeting for trust circulation.