Governor Baker Announces $26 Million in Community Development Block Grants
Funds set to support 65 municipalities across the Commonwealth
BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded 33 Community Development Block Grants totaling $26 million to 65 communities. These funds will help municipalities across the Commonwealth provide housing, infrastructure improvements, childcare vouchers, and other services to residents.
“Helping municipalities identify and solve local problems with local solutions ensures that funding is spent efficiently and effectively,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Increased local aid, supplemented by Community Development Block Grants, is an investment in our cities and towns that will reap benefits across the Commonwealth.”
“Working to help communities guide their own development and solve economic problems within their jurisdiction facilitates a focus on core community needs,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “Community Development Block Grants are an incredibly effective vehicle for improving communities for those who live and work in them.”
The CDBG Grants distributed in this round will fund housing rehabilitation for more than 300 units, as well as infrastructure improvements from Truro to West Springfield. They will also support a community center in North Adams, a domestic violence prevention task force in Russell, Chester, Huntington, and Middlefield, and childcare vouchers in Dennis, among other projects.
“Further economic development in Massachusetts requires a focused, effective, investment in infrastructure, education, and caretaker assistance,” said Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. “Improving our workforce through increased mobility and training will help grow and sustain our economy in a targeted, effective manner through programs like the Community Development Block Grants.”
“The opportunity to address housing needs through coordinated local action is one of the best parts of the Community Development Block Grant program,” said Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development Chrystal Kornegay. “I look forward to continued partnerships with municipalities across the Commonwealth as we work towards a sustainable, affordable housing supply.”
Massachusetts’ Community Development Block Grant Program is a federally funded, competitive grant program designed to help small cities and towns meet a broad range of community development needs. Assistance is provided to qualifying cities and towns for housing, community, and economic development projects that assist low and moderate-income residents, or by revitalizing areas of slum or blight.
In Massachusetts, the state CDBG program has distributed $237 million through more than 300 grants in the last seven years.
List of Towns:
· Adams – $580,728
· Athol – $363,818
· Amherst – $825,000
· Amesbury and Salisbury – $985,922
· Avon and West Bridgewater – $762,784
· Ayer – $900,000
· Bellingham, Franklin, and Hopedale – $894,082
· Chelsea – $825,000
· Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Peru, Plainfield, Williamsburg, and Worthington – $1,097,235
· Dennis – $825,000
· Eastham and Harwich – $899,161
· Edgartown, Aquinnah, West Tisbury, and Chilmark – $873,473
· Erving, New Salem, Northfield, Warwick, and Wendell – $1,099,034
· Everett – $825,000
· Gardner – $825,000
· Greenfield – $825,000
· Huntington – $886,540
· Montague – $374,909
· North Adams – $825,000
· Oak Bluffs and Tisbury – $805,694
· Palmer – $452,420
· Russell, Chester, Huntington, and Middlefield – $922,009
· Shelburne, Buckland, and Colrain – $903,026
· Shirley and Lancaster – $940,389
· Southbridge – $825,000
· South Hadley and Granby – $850,614
· Truro, Provincetown and Wellfleet – $869,780
· Wales, Brimfield, and Holland – $571,547
· Ware and Hardwick – $878,801
· Wareham – $825,000
· Warren, Brookfield, and North Brookfield – $955,136
· Webster – $825,000
· West Springfield – $825,000
