Somerville Mayor Identifies Property Value as Key Issue in Inaugural Address

During his seventh inaugural address, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone identified key issues for the city moving forward.

One such issue was the rising cost of housing in the city. During his address, Curtatone stated that housing and rent prices are being driven by a massive shortage of housing. The mayor told the Somerville High School audience that the region needs to ad 435,000 new housing units by 2040 and 9,000 housing units in Somerville alone. Curtatone added that housing and rent prices are being driven by a massive shortage of housing.

“I grew up in Somerville as the son of two Italian immigrants,” Curtatone said during his address. ”My father and mother both worked in factories. My dad cut hair and drove a snow plow for extra money. My mom also worked as a cook. They raised three children, put a good roof over our heads and sent us to college. But is the door still open for a family like mine here in Somerville? It needs to be. We need to be a city that is as much a home to the people who are working their way up as it is for those who have already made it.”

Curtatone announced a partnership with Tufts University aiming to take neighborhoods primarily used for student housing and turning them into family housing while also increasing the amount of housing on campus for students. The city is also joining forces with the Somerville Community Corporation attempting to turn 100 housing units into permanent affordable housing within the next three years, among additional initiatives aimed at curbing spikes in housing prices.

“The math is simple,” Curtatone said. “If the region does not build the housing we need, and if Somerville does not build the 9,000 units we need, no amount of affordable housing programs alone will be able to keep the cost of a home or rent reasonable for ALL of us.”

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