Waltham Housing Authority considering new state housing locations

Members of the Waltham Housing Authority’s leadership team will meet with representatives from the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Liveable Communities this month to discuss the possibility of new state-funded housing at Chesterbrook and South streets.

The WHA’s properties are funded through state and federal housing assistance programs. The authority already manages state-funded housing properties near both locations, and is considering adding new locations to its portfolio, said Assistant Executive Director Mark Johnson at the organization’s monthly board of directors meeting on April 14. Johnson added that the WHA and EOHLC would also discuss the future of two state-funded houses on Marguerite Avenue whose leases with the WHA have recently expired.

Meanwhile, some of the organization’s federally run programs may not be expanding very much in the near future. Executive Director John Gollinger told directors the WHA had received a federal directive not to distribute Section 8 vouchers beyond its means, because the federal government was not prepared to allocate additional funding if local housing authorities started to experience budget shortfalls. 

Gollinger said the WHA was on track to maintain its current number of Section 8 vouchers. As of last month, the organization, which is authorized to distribute 455 vouchers, had 390 active.

Additionally, the WHA:

• Authorized Gollinger to accept any federal funding from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. This program distributes funding for construction, purchase and rehabilitation of housing for low-income residents. Waltham is part of the WestMetro HOME Consortium, a partnership between multiple local municipalities that uses HOME money to improve affordable low-income housing offerings in the area.
• Received an update on the state of WHA housing, which has nine vacant units. The organization is commencing renovations at School Street and Prospect Street properties soon. It voted to accept a certificate of completion for a $15,073.71 computer learning center renovation at Chesterbrook, and learned that its properties on Orange Street are now fully powered by solar energy.
• Received an update on the WHA’s fiscal state. Gollinger said its revenue and costs in February were fairly standard, and the organization is financially stable.