Family shelter, affordable housing and Northeast’s inclusive playground win CPC funding 

Middlesex Human Service Agency, which has operated substance abuse treatment and shelter programs in Waltham since 1977, received the full $1 million it requested in Community Preservation Act funds to complete renovations on a new facility at 118 Prospect St. 

It was one of six projects the Waltham Community Preservation Committee unanimously voted to fund at its May 12 meeting.

The MHSA project, tentatively called New Prospects, will provide what CEO Bob Mills described as a critical kind of care: live-in addiction treatment where parents can bring their children with them. 

The model is known as family residential treatment and tends to serve women in treatment who otherwise would have no means for childcare. “One of the largest barriers to women seeking recovery is the custody of their children,” Mills told the committee. 

MHSA’s new facility would allow families to stay together in a congregate setting while a parent receives treatment and works toward permanent housing. 

CPC will provide $1 million in funding for the project, and an additional $750,000 will be raised through private donors. Mills said construction should wrap in early July, with a projected opening in October after the facility receives state licensing. 

MHSA had not planned to seek funds from CPC, but unexpected state budget cuts of roughly 25% of the organization’s budget forced its hand. The agency serves 149 families per day across eastern Massachusetts and has placed 167 families into permanent affordable housing so far this year. 

In other actions, the committee approved: 

• $1,130,000 in funding for Northeast Elementary’s new wheelchair-accessible playground. The project has been in the works for several years, driven by the school’s principal and parent-teacher organization. Pending final City Council approval on June 8, construction is expected to begin immediately and finish before the start of the 2026-27 school year. Outside of school hours, the playground will be open to the public.
• Acquisitions of 50 Mount Walley Road for $944,900 and 48 Mount Walley Road for $804,900 to be used as affordable housing at 80% of the area’s median income or below. Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy presented the requests for acquisition and noted that both properties will be single-family homes with a veteran’s preference. Each unit will be capped at three residents to preserve the character of the neighborhood and offered through a public lottery. 
• $8,500 for the restoration of the Revolutionary War monument on Waltham Common. The granite monument was installed in 1930 and commemorates 293 Waltham patriots who served in the American Revolution but is currently oxidized to the point of illegibility. Restoration is expected to be completed by July 4 in time for the country’s 250th anniversary. 
• $6,895 for the preservation of the First Book of Town Records. The city clerk’s office received funding to restore and digitize Waltham’s oldest surviving municipal record book, covering town meeting minutes from 1737 to 1758. The volume will be cleaned, rebound and digitized by the Northeast Document Conservation Center.