The Community Preservation Committee will hold a public hearing March 12 to vet the six varied projects under consideration for some $7 million in possible CPC funding in Fiscal Year 2026.
The project list is top heavy with two affordable housing proposals. The larger is a $3.5 million request from the Charles River Center that would go toward building 86 new housing units to help serve people with developmental disabilities at its East Militia Heights property. The other is an ask of $3.2 million from the Needham Housing Authority to help preserve the 46 deeply affordable one-bedroom apartments in four buildings located on Seabeds Way.
Three of the remaining projects are in the CPC’s recreation category and one is for historic preservation. The four combined are seeking just over a half million dollars.
At its Feb. 26 meeting, the CPC noted that the combined requests exceed its readily available funding by $659,767. The committee has options for tapping reserve funds if it wishes to fully fund every request. It can also fund projects at lower amounts than those requested.
“My gut feeling so far is there hasn’t been much negative discussion about any of these projects,” said CPC Chair Dave Herer.
CPC funds are derived from a 2 percent surcharge on property tax bills and can only be used to support open-space protection, historic preservation, community housing or outdoor recreational facilities. The town estimates the surcharge will yield $4 million for FY26 — $3.64 million from the property tax levy and another $345,000 from state matching funds.
There are also funds set aside from prior years.
The CPC does not have final say on funding. That comes at Annual Town Meeting in May when recommended projects are presented as individual warrant articles that cannot be amended.
NHA, Charles River Center on parallel tracks
This will not be the last time the Charles River Center and NHA find themselves knocking on the same doors for public sources of funding. The NHA had an earlier start with the CPC and last year received $5.5 million to support future construction at its proposed Linden Terrace project.
The town’s funding contribution to both projects is ultimately expected to be a small fraction of what will come from state, federal and other sources. However, those other sources place considerable weight on the level of local support and participation in making funding allocations.
Late last month, the NHA submitted its application for an additional $45 million for the first phase of the Linden Terrace project. It would create 76 one-bedroom units to replace the 18 one-story buildings along Linden Street with a four-story elevator building. The NHA plans to add 60 additional units in an eventual Phase 1B.
The NHA application was submitted through the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities One-Stop program, which streamlines applying for funds from state and federal sources. That includes applying for low income housing tax credits issued by the Internal Revenue Service, the primary mechanism the government uses to encourage private investment in affordable housing.
The Charles River Center is hoping to gain access to all of the funding sources available via the EOHLC program in next year’s funding round.
While the NHA succeeded in getting into the EOHLC funding queue this year, its overall plans had to be altered due to a lawsuit that led to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pulling the plug on a program that the NHA had been relying on to facilitate redevelopment plans at three of its properties — Linden Terrace, Seabeds Way and Captain Robert Cook Drive.
The change came at a time the NHA project had gained momentum in advancing its plans to seek tens of millions of dollars to rehab or replace most of its more than 300 units of deeply affordable housing that are badly in need of repair.
The NHA had received required zoning changes and permit approvals from town boards, entered into an agreement with a well-regarded development partner and gained entrée to the EOHLC One-Stop program.
Community Preservation Act funding request
The NHA now needs to adjust its plans to avoid a hole in its near-term financing plan and possibly needing to alter its planned construction sequence. In fact, the NHA has adjusted its funding request twice during the course of the CPC process.
Initially, the NHA had planned to seek $5.6 million in this year’s CPC round toward an expected $56 million cost for the preservation of both Seabeds Way and Captain Robert Cook Drive. Both properties date back to 1982 and are in dire need of maintenance.
The HUD action required the NHA to proceed under different federal guidelines which drove up the estimated combined costs for Seabeds ($28.5 million) and Cook ($40.3 million) by 20 percent to nearly $70 million.
The NHA initially responded by increasing its CPA request to $9.95 million. When it became clear that the CPC would be unable to accommodate that request, the NHA opted to focus solely on Seabeds and delay action on Cook and lower its CPC request to just over $3 million.
“It was kind of tough to accept the reality,” Reg Foster, chair of the NHA Board and a member of the CPC, said at the Feb. 26 CPC meeting. “Our Cooks residents really need to know that we haven’t given up on them whatsoever. As soon as we can get these two projects funded, we’re going to go back and figure out how to get the Cook upgrade done.”
Recreation and Historic Preservation also up for funding
The March 12 public hearing starts at 7 p.m. at the Public Services Administration Building at 500 Dedham Ave. The four other projects on the agenda are:
- The town Park and Recreation department is seeking $300,000 for design costs associated with construction of an action sports park and pickleball courts at Claxton Field.
- The Needham Conservation Department and Needham Conservation Commission is asking for $104,000 to upgrade trail signage and make trail improvements on town-owned protected spaces and trails.
- Park & Rec and the DPW want $69,960 for design costs associated with the renovation of the Eliot School fields and playground.
- The Needham History Center and Museum is requesting $46,712 for storage upgrades for its ongoing museum collections under the CPA category of Historic Preservation.
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