Select Board backs Locust Field affordable-housing proposal that would create 40 rental units and homeownership opportunities

Town Manager Mike Rentshaw described the recommended proposal for the town-owned 0 Locust Field parcel, which the board said came out of a reviewed RFP process. Rentshaw said the proposal—submitted as a joint venture by Falmouth Housing Corporation, Affirmative Investments Incorporated and Falmouth Housing Trust—would create about 40 rental units across two buildings plus six homeownership units and three duplexes.

Rentshaw described the affordability mix included in the proposal: 8 units tied to project-based vouchers, roughly 28 units targeted at about 80% of area median income, and 2 units at 100% AMI. He said the project scored highly with the review committee and the proposal included a capital ask "over $4,000,000" in the transcript. The board approved proceeding with the land disposition steps required to advance the project.

The board also discussed, separately, a town-owned parcel at 0 West Falmouth Highway. That proposal raised title and Article 97 constraints; upon town counsel advice and recent court decisions the board agreed not to proceed with that parcel at this time but said the decision did not reflect retreat from broader affordable-housing goals.

Next steps: Select Board authorized staff to proceed with disposition steps for the Locust Field proposal and flagged continued tracking of funding and SHI entry by community development staff.