Salem Puts $9.5 Million In COVID Funding Toward Affordable Housing

SALEM, MA — Salem has allocated nearly $9.5 million of its American Recovery Plan Act funding to affordable housing initiatives, including $5 million for new construction projects.

The grant program will provide up to $2 million for the construction of affordable rental housing projects with awards capped at $100,000 per unit.

"This new construction grant program is a significant investment of local resources that will protect the availability of affordable, secure, and stable homes," said Amanda Chiancola, deputy director of the city's Department of Planning and Community Development. "Through the housing roadmap process, community members in Salem affirmed that they see housing as a human right and the construction grant program is one more step towards our community meeting that vision."

The city will also dedicate $1 million toward accessory dwelling unit grants, $1 million to affordable housing energy efficiency enhancement grants, $1 million toward an affordable housing trust fund and $100,000 for a pilot program that would examine ways the city could have the right of first chance to purchase buildings with affordable units before they can be sold to developers who would turn them into higher-priced housing.

"For many Salem residents, the last few years of this pandemic have resulted in greater levels of housing insecurity," Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said. "This, combined with the rapid increase in home values and rents, has only exacerbated the need for real action on housing and affordability. I am proud of the work that we have undertaken over the past years to address these issues here in Salem, and the availability of these federal resources now enables us to go even further to invest in solutions to our housing challenges.

"We're also committed to being responsive to the efficacy of programs and will consistently evaluate and measure how these initiatives work so that, in future phases of Salem's ARPA allocations, we can respond accordingly based on results and on the changing context of our local housing needs."

Other projects included in the funding are $500,000 to improve digital access for low-income and affordable housing projects, $870,000 for existing housing programs, $200,000 for rental assistance programs, $100,000 for first-time homeowner assistance, $75,000 for a neighborhood stability manager, $50,000 for housing counseling and $45,000 for emergency disaster relief housing.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)