Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito designated the City of Everett a Housing Choice Community. The Lt. Governor highlighted the DeMaria administration’s efforts for producing new housing units and adopting best practices related to housing production that will sustain a workforce and increase access to opportunity for Everett residents.
Mayor DeMaria stated, “This designation will help provide us with the tools needed to continue to promote more accessible and affordable housing for our current and future residents. Ultimately, my administration, the city council and our state counterparts, will continue to work hard to make our city an inclusive and welcoming place for families to live, to work and age in place.”
With Everett being a Housing Choice designation it will have exclusive access to capital funds, bonus points and state grant programs such as MassHousing, MassWorks, Seaport Council Grants, Complete Streets, MassDot capital projects, and LAND and PARC grants.
In 2017, Boston Globe Magazine named Everett as one of the top spots to live in the Greater Boston region. Recognizing the growing popularity and the different challenges the City faces with facilitating housing production, as does any small city or town, the DeMaria administration has reinvigorated the housing market in the City of Everett.
Over the past 5 years, Everett has seen a housing growth greater than 5% or more than 500 units. With developments of the Batch Yard, the old Charleston Chew factory, Wellington Parkside, and coming soon, the Pioneer complex, at the former Harley Davidson site, Mayor DeMaria has attracted and drawn developers to come to Everett.
In 2014, Andy Montelli, of Post Road Residential, and the developers of the Batch Yard and the Pioneer developments expressed his positive experience while developing in Everett. Citing his gratitude and appreciation to the City and Mayor DeMaria, and calling Everett a great place to conduct business, Montelli stated, “We’ve developed high-end luxury apartments from Washington, DC to Boston – but this project will go on the cover of our (company) brochure.”
The DeMaria administration is also working on housing affordability in Everett. These units are a vital safety net for the most vulnerable residents. DeMaria stated, “As housing prices in Everett continue to increase, our elderly and working class residents will be increasingly at risk. Investing in affordable housing will help to preserve our community’s identity and diversity.”
The Mayor is working with City and State officials to institute a smart zoning policy, which will be the catalyst for building a new wave of affordable housing that would not require a federal susbsidy.
Looking to the future, both high-end and affordable housing developments are part of the Mayor and his administration’s continuous work towards revitalizing the City. The administration has worked extensively on City planning and development studies to attract elite developers.