Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees 10/21/2026

The City of Worcester Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board of Trustees met on October 21, 2026. The board approved minutes from August 19 and voted to extend the fall 2025 and spring 2026 Community Preservation Act conditional commitments through December 31, 2026, with no changes to award amounts, terms, or conditions. The extension applies to projects including Habitat for Humanity, Claremont Street, Seeds of Hope Tiny Homes, Colony on Grove phases, Lakeside Apartments phase three, Southwest Urban Infill Housing, and the Haywood Boot and Shoe Company at 70 Winter Street. Staff said several projects are awaiting funding or other closing requirements; commitments that lapse could return to the funding pool, and the board may consider further extensions at its December meeting.

The board received a presentation on pet-inclusive housing and discussed whether to incorporate a scoring incentive or other pet-policy criteria into the next funding RFP; no policy or funding change was adopted. Staff said the next RFP criteria are expected to be discussed in January. The financial update reported approximately $15.3 million in cumulative expenditures through September, about $3.5 million in remaining balances across projects with executed contracts and purchase orders, and a staff-adjusted trust balance of just under $7.3 million; Colony on Grove accounted for just under $2.3 million of the remaining project balances. Staff also reported progress drawing down outstanding awards and anticipated expending remaining funds by November.