Cottages in the Woods Offers New Model for Municipal Land Use and Affordable Housing

WESTFORD, Mass., Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For years, towns have struggled fulfilling their obligation to provide housing for lower income people. Now, through an innovative public/private partnership between the town of Westford and developers Wescon, Inc. and Cottage Advisors, a new model has emerged for transforming municipally owned land into a neighborhood of affordable single-family homes.

A significant departure from other projects permitted under Chapter 40B, the state's affordable housing law, Cottages in the Woods earned unprecedented support and was the fastest approved 40B project in Massachusetts' history.  Upon completion, Westford will have created an attractive community of homes for underserved buyers while boosting its tax base.

"This isn't so much 'affordable' housing as it is 'work force' housing," said Howard John Hall, President and CEO of Cottage Advisors, a pioneer in the creation of cottage communities for recreational and year round living. Under the law, 20% of the homes created through 40B permitting are earmarked for affordable housing, with the remaining homes allowed to be sold at market value, earning a developer as much as a 20% profit.  "Unlike other 40B projects, we decided to limit our profit potential to just 8%.  Uniformly built and priced, these homes will be bought through a lottery of income qualified applicants. This model varies from the typical 40B affordable housing model in that it is 100% affordable housing."

The project also is unusual because the town issued a request for proposals from developers and supplied the land at a reduced cost, enabling local officials to retain control of the project and generate goodwill.  During a town meeting, 75 percent voted in favor of the neighborhood, according to Angus Jennings, Director of Land Use Management for Westford.

Located on 5.3 acres, the 20 detached two- and three-bedroom cottage-style homes are priced at $151,000 and $168,500 and range from 900 - 1,100 square feet. The homes' small size and use of Energy Star rated materials will make them efficient to heat and cool, translating into savings for their owners.

"In the right town, given the right situation, this is a scalable scenario to create lower cost, quality housing," said David Guthrie, President of Wescon, Inc.  

For more information visit http://www.cottageadvisors.com or http://www.wescondevelopers.com.

SOURCE Cottage Advisors