Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces $33.5 Million for Housing, Economic Development Across State

Healey-Driscoll Administration Announces $33.5 Million for Housing, Economic Development Across State 

Also creates new Housing Choice Initiative to support housing development in small and rural communities 

GREAT BARRINGTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced nearly $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awards to support housing, infrastructure, social services and economic development projects in 52 communities across Massachusetts. At the same time, the administration is updating its Housing Choice Initiative to launch a new Rural and Small Town Housing Choice Community designation, giving smaller and more rural communities a clearer path to state recognition and resources for pro-housing policies.  

Together, these initiatives reflect the administration’s commitment to listening to communities of all sizes and working alongside local leaders to deliver the tools, funding and policy support they need to expand housing options and strengthen their downtowns and neighborhoods. 

“From our smallest hill towns to our Gateway Cities and regional hubs, we are listening to local leaders and making sure they have the resources they need to deliver for their residents,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These Community Development Block Grants will support housing and economic development in cities and towns across the state, and the new Rural and Small Town designation will make sure that no community is left behind. Together, these initiatives are about giving communities the tools they need to grow their economies, build more housing to lower costs, and deliver the high-quality services their people deserve.” 

“As a former mayor, I know how powerful it is when the state not only sends funding but also recognizes and supports the local policies that make new housing possible,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “CDBG is one of the most flexible tools that cities and towns have to respond to local needs. By pairing those dollars with a refreshed Housing Choice program — including a Rural and Small Town designation — we are making sure communities of every size can access state support, unlock new housing and strengthen their downtowns and neighborhoods.” 

“This year’s CDBG awards will fund housing rehabilitation, street and sidewalk upgrades, planning work and vital social services in dozens of communities,” said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “At the same time, our new Rural and Small Town Housing Choice designation recognizes that smaller communities face different realities but are just as committed to creating housing options for their residents. These changes grew out of hundreds of conversations my team and I have had with local leaders over the past three years, and they will help more communities qualify for Housing Choice recognition and grant programs that support long term housing and community development.” 

The federal fiscal 2025 CDBG awards, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC), will help small cities and towns undertake projects that benefit low- and moderate-income residents. Eligible municipalities applied individually or as part of a regional application. This year, HLC is issuing 27 competitive Community Development Fund awards totaling $25.7 million, along with $7.75 million for nine Mini-Entitlement communities, for a combined $33.47 million in funding.  

Communities will use CDBG funds for a wide range of eligible activities, including housing rehabilitation, sidewalk and road improvements, planning studies, public facility upgrades and social services such as food pantries, youth programming and homelessness prevention. Awardees include communities on the Cape and Islands, in the Berkshires, in Gateway Cities and in rural Western and Central Massachusetts, underscoring the geographic reach and flexibility of the program.  

In addition to these investments, HLC will launch a new Rural and Small Town Housing Choice Community (RST-HCC) designation in the 2026 round. Municipalities with 7,000 or less year-round population or under 500 persons per square mile qualify as “Rural and Small Towns.” 

The Housing Choice Initiative, first created in 2018 and updated in 2025, recognizes municipalities that are producing housing and adopting local policies that support housing growth, such as pro-housing zoning, affordability programs and streamlined permitting. As part of the 2026 update, both the standard Housing Choice Community designation and the new RST-HCC designation will maintain existing housing production thresholds over the previous five years while slightly reducing the number of required “best practices” in response to feedback from communities and regional planning agencies. The updated designation criteria will make it easier for both rural and non-rural communities to qualify for Housing Choice status and 

The Rural and Small Town Housing Choice Community designation requires one of four housing production thresholds, with lower best practice requirements than larger or more urban communities. For example, rural and small towns that have increased their year-round housing stock by at least 3% in the past five years would qualify with 8 best practice requirements. Communities that have grown more slowly can qualify by combining housing growth with a specified number of best practices, including actions to expand affordable housing options. The lowest rate of housing unit growth for RST–HCC designation is 1.5 percent over the last 5 years and 9 best practices.  

Since the relaunch of Housing Choice in 2025, HLC has gathered extensive feedback from rural and small municipalities, regional planning agencies and other partners. The new RST-HCC designation and adjusted criteria are a direct response to that feedback and are expected to increase the number of communities able to participate in Housing Choice from 77 in 2025 to an estimated 90 to 96 communities after the 2026 designation round.   

The 2026 Housing Choice and Rural and Small Town Housing Choice designation application round is expected to open in January 2026, in time for newly designated communities to participate in the Community One Stop for Growth. 

Federal fiscal 2025 Community Development Block Grant Awards 

Mini-Entitlement communities 

• Amherst — Kendrick Park Sidewalks and social services —$850,000 
• Chelsea — Voke Park Project and social services —$850,000 
• Gardner — Downtown Phase V Construction and social services —$850,000 
• Greenfield — Housing rehab program (3 units), Sidewalk reconstruction program and social services —$850,000 
• North Adams — Senior Center Phase IV improvements and Prospect Hill area road improvements —$950,000 
• Southbridge — Housing rehab program (5 units) and code enforcement and commercial rehab —$850,000 
• Wareham — Housing rehab program (8 units) and social services —$850,000 
• Webster — Aldrich Street reconstruction —$850,000 
• West Springfield — West School Street and Willard Avenue water main replacement and social services —$850,000 

Community Development Fund awards 

• Athol — South Street Phase III (Freedom to Tunnel) —$850,000 
• Barre — Fir Street Improvement Project and planning for South Barre slum and blight inventory —$691,000 
• Beverly — Housing rehab program (12 units) —$850,000 
• Brewster (joint with Dennis and Wellfleet) — Housing rehab program (13 units) and social services—$1,250,000 
• Chester — Prospect Street Phase 4 —$850,000 
• Chesterfield (joint with Cummington, Goshen, Plainfield, Savoy, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington) — Housing rehab program (12 units) and social services —$1,233,522 
• East Brookfield — Planning for ADA self-evaluation and transition plan, facilities assessment study and Off-Main infrastructure plan —$458,000 
• Edgartown (joint with West Tisbury and Aquinnah) — Housing rehab program (13 units) and social services—$1,250,000 
• Gill (joint with New Salem) — Housing rehab program (9 units) —$900,000 
• Great Barrington (joint with Egremont and Stockbridge) — Housing rehab program (14 units) —$1,250,000 
• Hinsdale (joint with Florida) — Housing rehab program (11 units) —$950,000 
• Holbrook — Housing rehab program (10 units) —$850,000 
• Huntington — Design for Blandford Hill Road infrastructure improvements, Stanton Avenue improvement project phase II and ADA self-evaluation and transition plan —$850,000 
• Lenox (joint with Sandisfield) — Housing rehab program (12 units) —$1,050,000 
• Mashpee — Housing rehab program (10 units) —$850,000 
• Methuen — Housing rehab program (8 units) —$838,206 
• Montague — Avenue A streetscape improvements construction project and social services —$850,000 
• New Marlborough (joint with Mount Washington and Otis) — Housing rehab program (15 units) —$1,250,000 
• Northbridge — Church Avenue reconstruction, Phase 2 —$850,000 
• Oak Bluffs (joint with Tisbury and Chilmark) — Housing rehab program (12 units) and social services —$1,250,000 
• Orange — Housing rehab project (3 units), Wheeler Memorial Library roof repair and replacement project and social services —$849,465 
• Palmer — Front, Park and Kelly Streets Improvement Project (FPKIP) and social services —$850,000 
• Randolph — Housing rehab program (8 units) and social services —$850,000 
• Salisbury — Housing rehab program (3 units), Meaders Lane neighborhood infrastructure project and social services —$850,000 
• Truro (joint with Provincetown, Harwich and Eastham) — Housing rehab program (13 units) and social services —$1,250,000 
• Ware — Cottage Street Infrastructure Improvement Project, Phase One, and social services —$850,000 
• Warren (joint with Millbury) — Design for senior center parking and neighborhood infrastructure improvements —$1,050,000