North Adams Transcript

August 29, 2007
Section: Local

Cable Mills a model for how Community Preservation Act works, officials say
By Susan Bush, Transcript Correspondent

Wednesday, August 29 WILLIAMSTOWN —

The Cable Mills condominium project is poised to strike a community bulls-eye and to serve as a state model for how the Community Preservation Act can work. With affordable housing, a publicly-accessible walkway along the Green River and preservation of a historic mill building, the project has created a Community Preservation Act triple play.

Property owner Bart J. Mitchell, president of the Boston-based Mitchell Properties LLC, plans to invest about $22 million during the project's initial two phases. A third phase that involves commercial development of the site's southwestern edge is in the preliminary planning stages, project manager Stephen Neill said Tuesday. Mitchell purchased the site in June for $3 million.

The project is expected to generate about $473,000 in yearly property tax revenues, Neill noted.
The Cable Mills plan includes delivering "vibrancy" to Williamstown's core downtown of Water, Meacham and Spring streets, Neill said.

"You'll have 150 or more new people living at Cable Mills when all the homes are built, bringing energy and vitality to buildings and a site where currently, there are none," he said. "Secondly, the river walk will draw people to a beautiful stretch of the Green River that was previously cut off from the community. And the commercially zoned area at the southern end of the Cable Mills site will allow for a yet-to-be determined use that serves as an anchor for the far end of Water Street, stretching out the vitality and the viability of everything that comes before it."

The Water Street area supports businesses in spite of the vacant mill complex, Neill noted.
"It's obviously not an appealing neighbor," he said. "But when the buildings are restored and lived in, with new windows and lighting and the energy of being a community where people live, it will change the entire vibe on Water Street."

There are 61 residential units set for construction next year under existing plans. Affordable housing is expected to come from 12 one-, two- and three- bedroom units slated for construction within the vast three-story brick building at the property's street-side boundary.

The affordable units will be available to those whose gross yearly household income is 80 percent or less of $61,000, the Berkshire County median income, according to Richard DeMayo, a member of the town's Community Preservation Committee.

Using federal Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines, households earning no more than $48,000 yearly could be eligible to purchase the units. Affordable housing is generally described as draining 30 percent or less from a total household income. DeMayo said he believes the purchase price for units designated as "affordable" are likely to be near the $120,000 range.
Potential buyers will be carefully scrutinized so that those qualifying to purchase affordable units can be identified, Neill said.

"Buyers are then decided by a lottery held among pre-screened, eligible buyers," he added.
The last time a residential development project included affordable housing was in 1990, Town Manager Peter Fohlin said.

A "word-of mouth" survey about the condominium project has generated responses of interest from 191 households, Neill and Mitchell told the Selectmen on Monday.

Housing not considered as "affordable" at Cable Mills will include five townhouses and eight duplexes, which will provide 16 living spaces, Neill said.

Most of the investment for the project will come directly from Mitchell Properties, equity investors and construction lenders, he said. The state Department of Housing and Community Development has committed $715,000 to the project, and the state Affordable Housing Trust Fund is providing $600,000 to the proposed development, according to Neill.

Town meeting voters approved $1.5 million from the Community Preservation fund for the proposal in May. DeMayo said that as of June, the fund totaled about $1.3 million. The fund won't be emptied as a result of the appropriation because the town plans to acquire a bond to be repaid over 20 years with future revenues, DeMayo said. Janette Dudley, Community Preservation Committee chairwoman, noted that the bond repayment will be funded in part with state matching funds.

Town voters approved participation in the Community Preservation Act in 2002. As a result, there is a 2 percent CPA surcharge on town property tax bills. The initiative includes a guaranteed state-funded match of between 5 and 100 percent, said Katherine Roth, associate director of the state's Community Preservation Coalition.

"The match is a guaranteed part of the program," Roth said. "The program has been in operation for seven years, and to date, there have been enough CPA revenues to match every community at 100 percent."

Fohlin noted that 53 percent of the fund was generated via the property tax surcharge, 42 percent from state matching funds, and 5 percent from interest on the account.

Matching funds are released yearly in October, Roth said. This year, the match will again be 100 percent for all participating communities, but an increase in participation could mean the match percentage will be decreased next year, she said.

The state coalition is proposing state legislation that, if approved, would keep the state match at 100 percent for all participating communities, she said.


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