Standing in Gloucester City Hall’s Kyrouz Auditorium where the motto “Build not for today alone but for tomorrow as well” dominates a mural above the stage, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced funding for projects statewide meant to build supportive housing for tomorrow.
The projects will receive $7.4 million in low-income housing tax credits and $38.5 million in subsidy funds for a total $46 million, according to the the Healey-Driscoll administration.
In Gloucester, the funding will expand the number of units to 29 and services at the historic Pattillo building at 67 Middle St. owned by the YMCA of the North Shore and operated as supportive housing for individuals, in some cases transitioning from homelessness.
In speaking about the need for affordable housing in Gloucester, state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, said if it was not for the intergenerational pass down of homes in the city, “a lot of the people who you see in Gloucester wouldn’t be in Gloucester” because they could not afford to start all over again with a median home sale price of $800,000 to $900,000.