Swampscott Select Board OK's $1.7 Million Veterans Housing Purchase

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A $1.7 million purchase-and-sale agreement for the town of Swampscott to buy the property adjacent to the VFW at 12-24 Pine Street, which would then be converted into affordable housing for veterans, was approved unanimously by the Select Board at Wednesday night's meeting.

The purchase is still subject to the approval of town meeting members next month but helps fulfill the commitment announced in March to buy the market property using American Recovery Plan Act funds and use them to develop 30 to 40 units of veterans housing, as well as providing a home for VFW services in the town.

"This is certainly one of the brightest days that I've had as a Select Board member," Select Board member David Grishman said. "We've really reset our relationship with the veterans, with Veterans Crossing.

"This is a long-time coming. And the fact that we're actually turning words into action is so important. We can say until we're blue in the face that we support our veterans, we love our veterans. But until we do something in a substantial way, it's just words. It's just words.

"So we're turning those words into action tonight."

The agreement includes a $100,000 deposit — $40,000 of which is non-refundable if the town terminates the purchase for any reason — the town's coverage of $25,000 in closing costs and sets a closing date on July 17 if the purchase passed the town meeting vote.

Select Board member Peter Spellios said he expects the units to be offered at 60 percent of the market rate, with some at 30 percent of the market rate. He said because of state guidelines regarding equity that while the intention is for all the units to be made available to veterans, it is unlikely the town will be able to restrict eligibility to only veterans from Swampscott.

"Candidly, I don't believe the demographics of Swampscott will satisfy the fair housing considerations," Spellios said. "We've been very clear with the veterans' organizations as well that we can't guarantee, because of fair housing considerations, what the final preference looks like and how it's administered."

Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald called the project a "downpayment on the service of individuals who have ultimately served us through their commitment in the military."

"It's important for people to understand that this is an extraordinary step for a town that really cares about its veterans," Fitzgerald said. "We want to make sure that we can offer more than just a place to grab a beer. We want to have a program that really supports the mental health, the needs of Swampscott's veterans."

(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.)