Prepared by Valley Community Development Corporation Amherst Supportive Housing Studio Apartments - Overview Valley Community Development Corporation (“Valley”) Background: The Craig’s Doors seasonal homeless shelter in Amherst served more than 175 individuals last winter. The Town of Amherst has conducted extensive community process regarding the issue of homelessness. A Forum on Homelessness (July 2016) attracted several hundred residents. One of the primary strategies identified to address homelessness was the creation of subsidized, small studio apartments with supportive services for low income single adults. There are currently no units of this type in Town. A Forum in October 2017, sponsored in cooperation with Valley, focused on educating the community about this type of supportive housing. In September 2017, the Town awarded a CDBG planning grant to Valley to locate a site for, and facilitate development of, a supportive housing studio apartment building of between 16-40 units.

Over the past 2 years Valley actively scouted for an appropriate, available site. Due to the hot housing market in Town (partly driven by pressure for student housing), real estate in Amherst is expensive and well-situated properties are quickly acquired by cash investors. After looking at more than 2 dozen sites, Valley identified an appropriate site in a great location.

Site Characteristics: Central, Walkable Location: 4/10 mile from Town Center and the nearest bus stop 6/10 mile from a major shopping center Walking distance to multiple service providers, including a health center offering free care and dental services to low income persons Main Road: Located on the main transit route (Route 9) Mixed Use Area: Abutters include single and multi-family residential and institutional uses Large Buildable Lot .88-acre lot is cleared and fairly level

Proposed Program / Tenant Profile: Renovate the existing vacant single family house on the site plus construct an addition to accommodate 28 small studio units (approximately 240 sf each) plus common areas and provider office. Deliver on-going resident service coordination coupled with community-based services for:  10 units for 30% AMI homeless persons (with project-based rental vouchers)  2 units for 30% AMI tenants who are clients of the Department of Mental Health (with project-based rental vouchers)  8 units for 50% AMI persons (Self-Pay)  8 units for 80% AMI persons (Self-Pay) The property will not house undergraduate, full-time students.

Timeline: Applied for $500,000 in CPA funds and $200,000 in CDBG Funds from Town of Amherst in December 2018. Acquired property in January 2019. Obtain zoning permit summer / fall 2019 (“friendly” 40B). Apply for financing in early winter 2019. Construction 2020-2021. Occupancy late 2021.