Mass. awards $227M for affordable housing; Danvers’ Waterhouse to add 116 units for deaf seniors

Boston — Governor Maura Healey and state housing officials onstage in Danvers announced $227,000,000 in combined state capital, state tax credits and federal tax credits that officials said will help build nearly 2,000 housing units across Massachusetts, including a 116‑unit project in Danvers tailored for deaf and deaf‑blind seniors.

Healy said the Waterhouse project, developed by New England Homes for the Deaf working with WIN (sometimes referred to in the transcript as wind companies/WIN), will produce 116 homes “more than 80% of which are affordable,” and that the homes will meet passive‑home standards to advance climate goals. “We know that homes are fundamental,” Healy said. “Housing is a place of belonging. It’s a place of security.”

The administration said the round of awards will produce nearly 2,000 units statewide: more than 1,700 affordable to households earning less than 60% of area median income and roughly 500 affordable to households earning less than 30% of median. Healy also highlighted a proposed $4 billion housing bond bill the administration filed to provide additional capital and said the state will continue to enforce the MBTA Communities Act to encourage local rezoning and production.

Ed Augustus, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, said the administration has increased capital investment in housing by 50% in its first two years and credited last summer’s law raising low‑income housing tax credits from $40 million to $60 million annually with enabling the larger winter rental funding round. “We are proud to be providing funds to 27 different projects, that will create nearly 2,000 units of affordable housing,” Augustus said, adding the winter round’s awards are spread across 18 communities from Danvers to Springfield.

Developers and hosts described accessibility features specific to the Waterhouse design. Adam Stein, executive vice president at WIN, said the development aims for a “100% goal preference for deaf, deaf blind, and hard of hearing” residents and incorporates wider corridors, clear sight lines and technology to support sign language and visual communication. Tom Boudreaux, director of communications and development for New England Homes for the Deaf, said the organization plans communication‑access programming, including American Sign Language classes and education on deaf culture so residents can interact as a single community.

New England Homes for the Deaf representatives said the organization has stewarded the property for decades and that the planned development responds to a long‑running search for a project aligned with the nonprofit’s mission. NEHD also noted it is one of only two long‑term care facilities in the United States that serve deaf and deaf‑blind seniors, a point the speaker emphasized when describing the organization’s responsibility to its mission.

Officials invited questions at the end of the program and said they would be available to speak informally afterward. No formal votes or local approvals were recorded in the remarks at the event; the announcement described awards and proposed state actions to accelerate housing production.