BERKSHIRE EDGE EDITORIALS CODE
Meanwhile, those on the left side of the aisle will be discomfited by the fact that taking a smart scalpel to the state building code and other regulations is the simplest way to make affordable housing projects and market-rate homebuilding alike cheaper and easier.Īnd then there is the bipartisan not-in-my-backyard sentiment that too often pervades the communities where working families have the fewest affordable housing options. Those on the right side of the aisle will dislike hearing that serious public investment - yes, that means spending and taxes - is needed to meet this issue where the housing market has failed low- and even moderate-income Bay Staters. And tackling that issue will mean folks getting behind not just simple sloganeering but real policy shifts that could be as uncomfortable as they are necessary. We’re saying its long waitlist highlights the importance of its main mission of boosting affordable housing stock, which at scale will necessarily require making such projects less economically onerous. We’re not critiquing the spirit of projects like Windrush Commons. Ironically, if there weren’t such a crunch on the county’s housing stock, at that price per unit you could buy each unit’s tenant a new home well above the area median price. Windrush Commons was a $19 million project, and while putting 49 more affordable units on the market is nothing to balk at, this comes out to around $390,000 per unit - considerably higher than the median price for a single-family home in Berkshire County, according to the Warren Group. It’s worth doing the math here to see what that scaling-up might look like. On the other hand, the fact that Windrush’s waiting list currently is three times its capacity underscores the scope of the region’s affordable housing needs and the necessity to quickly and efficiently scale up righteous efforts like this one if we want to put a dent in the commonwealth’s housing crisis. The bright side is that this shows considerable enthusiasm among working- and middle-class families to move to or sustainably stay in a region rightly concerned with population loss. Windrush attracted more than 300 applicants - or more than six times its total units - before construction was even complete. Great Barrington has been a South County regional leader in beefing up its affordable housing stock, and putting 49 affordable units on the map in such a big, beautiful way is an achievement for which the town and Community Development Corp of South Berkshire should be lauded.
The residential complex off South Main Street has 49 units, including 10 reserved for families who find themselves without a place to live or who are about to lose one, spread out over two acres with a central green common. Last week, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the grand opening of Windrush Commons.
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