Baker-Polito Administration Provides a $7.1M grant for Acton Housing Authority’s McManus Manor Project
Grant will be used to fund 41-unit low-income rental housing project for seniors and people with disabilities
Acton, MA -- State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough) is pleased to announce a $7,100,000 grant to Acton Housing Authority’s McManus Manor Project to build affordable rental housing for seniors. The grant, which was awarded by the Baker-Polito Administration’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will be used to fund the construction of the 41-unit affordable rental project.
In October, the Town of Acton received a $2.3 million grant from the MassWorks Infrastructure Growth Program to support the construction of a sewer extension for the McManus Manor project. The additional $7.1 million in funding will go towards the construction of the project, which will feature 41 total rental units dedicated to seniors earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Another 11 units will be dedicated to seniors earning less than 30% of AMI. The new affordable housing project will be designed to meet PHIUS+ 2015 Passive Building Standards, focusing on various sustainable features.
As of January 2022, the AHA’s waiting list for elder/disabled housing was over 2,000 households. This funding will help ensure that elderly and disabled residents in Acton have access to accessible and affordable housing. The Department of Developmental Services and Minuteman Senior Services will provide assistance to new residents at McManus Manor. The town also has plans to include the new housing development as a location on their hourly shuttle service, as well as build a park for seniors near the location.
“I am grateful to the Baker-Polito administration for providing this $7.1 million grant to the Acton Housing Authority (AHA) to build more truly affordable housing,” said State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Marlborough). “I have long supported the McManus Manor project, in the memory of former Acton Housing Authority Executive Director Betty McManus, and I am proud of the AHA and the town of Acton, for their commitment to building more affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities. I applaud AHA Executive Director Kelley Cronin and her staff for their vision and leadership, and continue to advocate for more local housing authorities to build new affordable housing.”
“The Acton Housing Authority has been working to create new units to meet the needs of senior and disabled households for affordable, accessible housing for years. The Board of the Housing Authority is very grateful for the State support of these units. We are also grateful to the Acton community for their support of this project from its inception. Town meeting voted to designate the Town owned property for these units, then voted to provide $1,000,000 in Community Preservation funds, $275,000 in Acton Community Housing Corporation funds, $250,000 in Town ARPA funds and by providing a sewer connection. We are looking forward to being able to welcome residents to these new homes,” said Kelley Cronin, executive director of the Acton Housing Authority.
"We are incredibly grateful Betty’s legacy as a housing advocate in Acton will be memorialized in the McManus Manor project,” said Kevin McManus, the widower of Betty McManus, former Executive Director of the Acton Housing Authority.
“It is wonderful to see the McManus Manor Project awarded this grant so that Acton can continue to address the shortage of affordable housing in our community and in the Commonwealth more broadly,” said State Representative Dr. Tami Gouveia (D-Acton). “The Acton Housing Authority has shown profound leadership in championing the construction of affordable, sustainable development in our town, particularly for our seniors and our residents with disabilities.”
“I am happy that the McManus Manor project received the funds that will allow this important affordable housing project to move forward and provide accessible housing to seniors and people with disabilities in our community, said State Representative Dan Sena (D-Acton). Thank you, Baker-Polito Administration’s (DHCD), for granting the funds to Acton.”
The funding is part of the Baker-Polito Administration’s $93 million in administered grants dedicated to affordable housing projects in 14 communities. The grants will help to build 790 housing units across the Commonwealth. DHCD will support the McManus Major project with federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidies, including funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
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Photo Courtesy of Winslow Architects Inc. The image shows a plan for an affordable housing project in Acton, Mass.
