State awards Everett $1.6M affordable housing grant; $97K environmental grant

By Neil Zolot

Everett has received an 18-month $1,650,000 Community Block Grant from the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for items that will include a 125-unit affordable housing development at 25 Garvey St. “This is something desperately needed in the city,” Director of Planning and Development Matt Lattanzi said at the City Council meeting on Monday, September 11.

The city will receive $820,000 per year over two fiscal years; $750,000 is for land acquisition at 25 Garvey, a small portion of the overall multimillion-dollar value of the land. “We can’t give money for development or construction, but can for land acquisition towards construction,” Lattanzi explained. “In giving the funds it helps access to state and federal grants, but state and federal authorities want to see ‘skin in the game.’ Without it, developers would be hard pressed to get state and federal funding. This being 100% affordable, they’ll seek a lot of funding.”

Work will be done in 2024. Rents are currently estimated to be $700-1,200 per month.

The other funds are for other elements of the grant, including $445,000 for administrative costs, $272,000 for social service agencies and $182,000 for Housing Rehabilitation loans. The loans are given for $50,000 per unit with 1/15th of the principal and money owed eliminated each year of the loan. “If you keep the property for 15 years, it becomes a grant,” Lattanzi said.

Lattanzi also presented and the Council accepted and approved spending a $97,795 grant from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to help restore natural functions to degraded wetlands and buffer zones at Rivergreen Park. It will involve planting and other restorative measures at South Creek.

Lattanzi also represented and the Council accepted expenditure of $10,000 from the Everett Citizens Foundation – whose source of funds is Encore Boston Harbor, the casino – to establish an account to be used by the Recreation Department to improve notification signage in their building.

The Council also voted to accept and expend funds through grants from the state Department of Conservation & Recreation presented by city Transportation Planner Jay Monty, specifically $600,000 to reconstruct Everett Square and $200,000 to improve and expand the Northern Strand Community Trail between Santilli and Sweetser Circles along Rte. 16/Revere Beach Parkway. Monty worked in the Planning Department when an Everett Square planning study was created in 2019 and has continued to be involved in the project, which also relates to transportation because it deals with automobile and pedestrian traffic. More specific information will be presented to the City Council in November.

“There’s no pride in Everett Square,” Ward 1 Councillor Wayne Matewsky reacted. “Any improvement to Everett Square will be positive.”

The Northern Strand Community Trail project will create a new spur, which will open up land inaccessible for decades.

In other action, the Council sent a request for an appropriation of $1,663,800 to fund 11 capital improvement projects to its Ways and Means Subcommittee for study – “where we can get more information,” Councillor-at-Large Stephanie Smith said.

As he had at the August 14 meeting, Ward 3 Councillor Darren Costa offered a resolution “requesting the Mayor appear at an upcoming meeting to advise the Council on the status of the renegotiation of the original Host Community Agreement with Encore.”

Encore has bought property in the area that hosted small businesses like Mike’s Roast Beef around the casino. Costa feels, “We can’t look at this as one bite. They own a lot of that area now.”

The Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Erin Deveney, answered, “Any expansion would require determining impact and renegotiation.”