A podium at an October 1 ceremony recognizing the 33 cities and towns that are now eligible for HCA-related state grants.
Lincoln is one of 33 towns that are now eligible for a new state grant program by virtue of having its rezoning approved by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
The rezoning measure to allow more multifamily housing was required to comply with the Housing Choice Act. It was mired in controversy last winter in Lincoln but ultimately passed in March. More than 70 cities and towns have passed HCA zoning, with many more expected at Town Meetings this fall.
Earlier this year, the Healey-Driscoll Administration created the $15 million MBTA Communities Catalyst Fund, a capital grant program that recognizes that promoting housing growth in communities requires additional resources and makes available funding to support activities related to housing creation, infrastructure projects associated with housing, and acquisition of property to promote housing.
Funding for the Catalyst program is available for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027. Awards will typically fund projects with grant requests between $250,000 and $1 million, according to the EOHLC. Conversely, the state has said that cities and towns that don’t approve HCA-friendly doing by their given deadline will become ineligible for several existing grant programs.
The Catalyst program allows towns to partner with private companies in enabling multifamily housing projects, Tim Higgins noted at the October 7 Select Board meeting. Upgrading the South Lincoln wastewater treatment plant, among other Lincoln-specific ideas, would seem to qualify.
“That gets my wheels spinning,” Select Board member Jim Hutchinson said.