Millis Fincom backs $200,000 CPA contribution to proposed 48‑unit affordable project at 1178 Main Street (contingent on state funding)

Heidi Gilmore presented Article 12 to the Finance Committee’s pre‑Town Meeting on April 29, moving to appropriate $200,000 from the Fiscal Year 2027 Community Preservation Act housing reserve to support MetroWest Collaborative Development’s purchase and redevelopment of 1178 Main Street.

Gilmore told attendees the project would create 48 rental apartments—16 one‑bedroom, 27 two‑bedroom and 5 three‑bedroom units—proposed to be permanently affordable to households earning about 30–60% of area median income. She emphasized that the requested CPA funds are a local contribution required by the state Affordable Housing program (EOHLC) and that no CPA funds would be released until the developer secures the necessary state financing and subsidies.

Community Preservation Commission member Jim McKay clarified that the project will be taxable at full rate and that all rental units will count toward the town’s Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) once constructed, noting that rental units also count toward the town’s 10% goal even if some are market‑rate. Residents asked about the site (confirmed to be across from the bowling alley), how the project interacts with a prior proposal that would have delivered only 12 affordable units, and the financial/tax implications of a fully affordable versus a partly market‑rate development.

Fincom members described the CPA funds as seed funding to make the state subsidy application competitive and said the committee voted unanimously to recommend approval. The appropriation is conditional: if state EOHLC financing does not materialize, the CPA funds would be returned to the housing reserve.

Next steps: MetroWest must secure state financing and the project will be presented to Town Meeting voters for final appropriation of CPA funds.