The Department of Housing and Community Development along with MassHousing have recently released a Notice of Funding Availability for the 2nd round of the Community Scale Housing Initiative (CSHI).  The Initiative provides up to $10 million to fund the development of small affordable housing projects for small cities and towns throughout Massachusetts. While the NOFA contains the full details, a summary of the program is below:

Eligibility:

  • Communities with a population of 200,000 or smaller
  • CSHI funds will only go to units targeted for 80% AMI or lower, and at least 20% of a project’s units must be CSHI
  • Between 5 and 20 rental units
  • New construction or adaptive re-use (must result in additional affordable units)
  • $200,000 of CSHI funds per unit cap, $150,000 CSHI funds per unit if also seeking DHCD project-based rental assistance.
  • Total development cost per unit may not exceed $350,000
  • Project must be financially feasible without 9%, 4%, or state housing credits

Schedule:
3/14 – Q&A Session
3/28 – Pre-Applications Due
4/11 – Decisions Announced on Pre-Applications
5/16 – Applications Due
5/21 – Hard Copies of Mass OneStop+ and 11”x17” Architectural Plans
7/18 – Decisions Regarding Apps