Medford Launches Study For Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area

A large part of this planning study's plan includes community input.

By Benjamin Pierce, Patch Staff

Oct 7, 2026 11:23 AM EDT

The planning study will examine neighborhood conditions and existing assets while identifying community priorities and opportunities for future investment. (Mike Carraggi/Patch)

MEDFORD, MA — The city is undertaking a planning study for a new federal designation that could give Medford more flexibility in how it uses funding to support low- and moderate-income residents and local neighborhoods.

The Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability is studying the establishment of a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area, or NRSA, which would allow the city to develop a coordinated strategy for using federal Community Development Block Grant funding within a specific area.

Medford receives CDBG funding annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funding is primarily intended to benefit low- and moderate-income residents and is currently used by the city for housing, economic development, public services, infrastructure, and other community development initiatives.

"Establishing an NRSA would give Medford more flexibility to address the needs of our community and make better use of the resources already available to us," Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said. "It would create new opportunities to support housing, economic development, and other local priorities, while helping us bring existing resources together in a more effective way."

An NRSA is a federally approved designation that allows municipalities to develop a coordinated strategy for revitalizing an area with a higher proportion of low- and moderate-income residents. The designation does not rezone an area or prioritize it for redevelopment, but instead makes it a priority area for spending federal funding to improve business districts and support low- and moderate-income residents.

The designation also does not provide Medford with a new source of federal funding. Instead, it provides additional flexibility in how existing CDBG funding can be used within the designated area as part of a broader neighborhood strategy.

The planning study will examine neighborhood conditions and existing assets while identifying community priorities and opportunities for future investment. The process will also help determine the boundaries of a potential NRSA and establish goals for using federal resources to support housing, economic opportunities, community facilities, and public services.

Medford has proposed an initial strategy area that includes census block groups with higher concentrations of low- and moderate-income residents as well as several of the city's commercial districts. For CDBG purposes, low- and moderate-income generally refers to households earning 80 percent or less of the area's median income.

"Community input will be a central component of the planning process," Director of Economic Development Kayla Myros said. "Over the coming months, PDS will host opportunities for residents and stakeholders to learn about the NRSA process, share information about their neighborhoods, identify community needs and assets, in order to shape the goals and strategies for the proposed strategy area."

The city plans to collect input through community events, neighborhood conversations, an online survey, stakeholder focus groups, and a public meeting. Officials will be available to gather feedback at the Harvest Your Energy Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 12 to 3 p.m. at McGlynn Middle School and Halloween Fest on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wright's Pond.

Medford anticipated receiving approximately $1.47 million in new CDBG funding for the 2026 program year when the city released its draft annual spending plan earlier this year, though the amount was an estimate pending its final federal allocation. The city has used CDBG funding for affordable housing, infrastructure improvements, public services, and economic development programs.

Funding has also supported programs including Project: Pop-Up Medford, which provides temporary commercial space and assistance to entrepreneurs, and the city's Vacant Storefront Grant Program, which provides funding to qualifying businesses moving into vacant commercial spaces.

Input gathered during the planning process will help shape the proposed NRSA strategy and guide future CDBG programming and other potential investments within the designated area.