By JILLIAN BROSOFSKY
Waltham Times Contributing Writer
The affordable housing lottery for a new development at 79 Pond St. is accepting applications until Feb. 17, at 2 p.m.
An information session about the lottery is scheduled for Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. on Zoom.
The six-story Alexan Waltham, which began construction in August 2023, will have a clubhouse, a pool, a fitness center, a dog park and on-site parking. It is a 15-minute walk away from the downtown MBTA commuter rail on Carter Street and is central to multiple bus routes.
The development has 210 units, 53 of which are designated affordable rentals. Broken down further, 14 apartments will be available to households at or below 60% the area median income (AMI), a criterion often used in affordable housing eligibility assessments. The remaining 39 affordable rentals will be available to households at or below 80% AMI.
The maximum income limits for 60% AMI units at 79 Pond St. range from $68,520 for individuals to $113,640 for six-person households. The maximum income limits for the 80% AMI units range from $91,200 for individuals to $151,100 for six-person households. Rent for the 53 apartments varies from $1,741 for a 60% AMI one-bedroom unit to $3,235 for a 80% AMI three-bedroom unit.
Expected to be open for occupancy in March 2025, Alexan Waltham has already seen high demand for these affordable units. SEB Housing LLC, which has been involved in Massachusetts’ affordable housing for more than 40 years, is running the lottery. Since opening the lottery on Dec. 16, it has received 282 applications, according to David Cashman, who is working with SEB Housing to run the lottery.
In fact, Cashman said that interest in the affordable units at the Pond Street building may be greater than typically seen for affordable units. He explained that affordable units at many locations are designated rentals to households at or below 80% AMI; having units specifically reserved for households at 60% or below AMI is less common. As a result, those 14 units set aside for 60% AMI families and individuals at the Pond Street complex could be drawing in higher numbers of applicants.
Alexan Waltham is also one of few developments in the city with an open affordable housing lottery.
As of 2020, there were 1,819 subsidized housing units in Waltham as defined by Chapter 40B, a state law that allows approval of “affordable housing developments under flexible rules if at least 20-25% of the units have long-term affordability restrictions.”
More affordable housing may be in sight in Waltham in the coming years.
On Tuesday, Willow Bridge Property Co. requested a Zoning Board of Appeals permit for a plan to build a five-story building on Main Street. As of now, the plan proposes 369 units, with 93 of them being affordable at the 80% AMI benchmark.
As for the 79 Pond St. lottery, Cashman encourages those filling out an application to take their time, especially when they complete the income submission.
“There are sources of income that the program requires that we count that some people might not know counts,” he said. This includes child support, parental support, alimony and other income.
The lottery will take place on March 4 at 6 p.m., on Zoom. The application can be found here.
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