PROVINCETOWN – One day after it passed at a special town meeting, Provincetown voters approved plans Tuesday to purchase a bankrupt condo complex for workforce housing.
The vote was 503-to-240 in favor.
The town will now bid on the Harbor Hill development at a sealed bid auction on February 27.
With the town in the midst of a year round housing crunch, town officials felt that letting the opportunity to purchase the complex pass would be a costly mistake.
“This is an opportunity to stop the flood and the flow of outward bound from Provincetown, to say that we as a community really care,” said 4th Barnstable State Representative and Provincetown resident Sarah Peake during Monday’s town meeting.
The property is assessed at $6.8 million, and the town must submit its bid by February 14.
Approval at town meeting and the ballot box authorizes the town to spend $10.7 million. That figure would pay for the purchase and needed renovations.
The units include 25 two-bedroom and one three-bedroom move-in-ready apartments, and would be aimed a middle income residents.
Rents would start at around $1,800 a month.
If the town is the winning bidder, occupancy could begin in the first units by early fall.
By MATT PITTA, CapeCod.com News Director
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