Andover Selected to Work with CHAPA on New Affordable Housing Strategies
Andover is one of just three towns chosen by The Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) for their Municipal Engagement Initiative (MEI) 2022 cohort. MEI provides support and technical assistance to communities in their efforts to create coalitions in support of affordable housing. With local expertise at the forefront, MEI seeks to help municipalities develop unique, actionable strategies that work within the context of each community.
“We are proud to be part of the Andover community that has shown an incredible commitment to increasing affordable housing.”
Andover Community Trust wrote a letter of support for Andover’s application, sharing the past successes and future promise of the partnerships ACT has created both with the Town and with Greater Lawrence Technical School in creating a more affordable Andover.
Andover’s current measurement of 13.4% on the Subsidized Housing Inventory is 2nd behind Lawrence in the Merrimack Valley and 14th among the 351 Massachusetts cities and towns. However, only 7.4% of Andover housing units are actually affordable to residents earning less than 80% of the area median income. The median income of $105,400 in the region is not sufficient for the purchase of a market rate home in Andover.
As in towns across Massachusetts, the sales price of homes in Andover continues to rise. In 2021 the median sales price of a home was over $700,000, up more than 11% over the previous year, and available homes continue to decline while the average time on the market is less than 30 days.
“The Town of Andover is excited to partner with CHAPA to engage our community in purposeful conversations on the topic of housing and to advocate for housing policies that meet the needs of our community,” said Anthony Collins, associate planner in the Town of Andover Planning Division.
“We are proud to be part of the Andover community that has shown an incredible commitment to increasing affordable housing,” shared Denise Johnson, ACT Executive Director. “We welcome the chance to work closely with CHAPA staff and the town to develop strategies and build increased support within Andover for affordable housing that would be a benefit to all residents.”
Since 2018, CHAPA has partnered with fifteen communities. Past successes of the local coalitions who participated in MEI include Medford’s first Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance and the creation of a Revere Affordable Housing Trust, as well as other zoning reforms and affordable housing developments. The other two communities selected for the full MEI program for 2022 are Chelsea and Milton.
