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Salem Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board’s Construction Grant Program Leverages $500,000 in ARPA Funds to support Affordable Housing

The AHTF’s Request for Development Applications will contribute needed funds to projects that advance the City’s housing goals
Posted on: October 23, 2023 - 9:25am
Housing in Salem

Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo today announced that the City has launched a new funding application, administered through the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board (“Trust”), to help produce and retain affordable housing units in Salem. The Trust’s Request for Development Applications utilizes funds from the City’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation to run a competitive construction grant program, offering support to shovel-ready projects that most advance the City’s housing priorities as outlined in the Housing Roadmap.

“One of the leading challenges facing Salem and our entire Commonwealth right now is the need for affordable housing,” said Mayor Pangallo, “This new grant program is one more important step toward addressing this complex need. I am grateful to the dedicated volunteers on the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board and the City staff who have developed this new initiative and to our federal partners whose support for ARPA funding has made it possible.”

Housing costs in Salem are significantly outpacing incomes. Around 48% of Salem residents are low to moderate income, and 42% of those residents spend more than half of their take-home income on housing costs, leaving little income for other necessities, such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical costs. This grant program seeks to assist in the creation and preservation of affordable housing units in the City, which will assist in meeting this urgent need.

This is a construction grant program, administered on a reimbursement basis. Applications can be for new construction and rehabilitation projects. The maximum grant award is $500,000 and partial grants may be awarded. Eligible projects a) must serve qualifying households and populations, as described by U.S. Treasury’s Final Rule, b) advance the goals of the Housing Roadmap, with points allocated in accordance with the Scoring Rubric approved by the Trust, c) have land use approvals in hand, meaning permitting is complete, and d) be able to commit the funds for direct hard costs no later than June 30, 2024.

The City of Salem is now accepting applications from eligible applicants. Deadlines for applications is end of day (12pm EST) on Friday, December 15, 2023. More information about eligibility and how to apply can be found within the Request for Development Applications  here. Please contact Elena Eimert at eeimert@salem.com with any questions.

About ARPA in Salem

ARPA provides much needed funds to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative economic affects that came with it. Salem has taken a thoughtful approach to utilizing this funding to aid response and recovery efforts, ensure an equitable recovery, and make transformative, positive change in the many areas of concern that impact the lives and livelihoods of Salem residents. The City has previously announced major allocations of ARPA funds toward critical City capital needs (www.salemma.gov/recovery/news/city-salem-directs-arpa-funds-capital-needs), business and worker recovery measures (www.salemma.gov/recovery/news/city-salem-directs-arpa-funds-business-and-workforce-recovery), transportation projects (www.salemma.gov/recovery/news/city-salem-directs-arpa-funds-transportation-needs), food security efforts (https://www.salemma.gov/recovery/news/city-salem-directs-arpa-funds-food-security), and affordable housing (https://www.salemma.gov/recovery/news/city-salem-directs-over-9-million-arpa-funds-affordable-housing). Find out more about ARPA in Salem at www.salemma.gov/recovery.