City explores additional affordable housing options on Fernald property
Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy told trustees of the city’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund she’s exploring a bid to turn buildings at the former Fernald State School into affordable veterans’ housing.
At Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, McCarthy said she recently viewed the site with a company that offered a bid to build affordable housing there.
She said the company has proposed turning the two-story Dolan Hall, a former dormitory for adult residents of the Fernald State School, into housing for veterans and has indicated it may consider expanding its bid to include adjacent buildings.
McCarthy added she was in contact with one other party interested in providing housing at the property and hopes to meet with representatives soon.
The city recently finished work to turn Cardinal Cottage, another property on the site, into two units of affordable housing using money from the MAHTF. McCarthy told trustees the cottage, which received a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals in April to exist in a nonresidential zone, is ready for occupancy and the city will soon offer applications for a housing lottery.
Additionally, the fund’s trustees
- Received an update on the city-run Nahum Hardy Elderly Housing, at the site of the former Hardy Elementary School. The building is at full occupancy, with rents priced to be affordable to residents making around 50% of the area median income.
- Discussed a project to build a women’s shelter at the former Elks Lodge on School Street. Trustees in April voted to use $1,301,995 from the trust fund to renovate the building, which will include an emergency shelter space and lodging-house style residences. The mayor said the city’s Wires, Building and Maintenance departments are working to fix the building as much as possible before the city hires a project architect.
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This is incredibly encouraging news for Waltham. Transforming underutilized buildings at Fernald, like Dolan Hall, into affordable housing for our veterans is a phenomenal way to honor those who served while tackling our local affordable housing crisis. And even though the Cardinal Cottage project still has a way to go through Phase Two interior work before they are ready for actual residential living, seeing the exterior work and zoning approvals show we are heading in the right direction.
With the city actively looking at these sites, we should also take this opportunity to reconsider the Waltham State Armory project, which is another historic landmark that could be beautifully transformed into much-needed community housing.
Affordable housing is vital to keeping our city thriving and moving forward. When we ensure that our veterans, seniors, and working families have safe, accessible places to live, we build a stronger and more resilient community for everyone. I truly hope Mayor McCarthy and the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund continue aggressively pursuing these types of options for our city. Let’s keep this momentum going!