Cape Housing Institute Starts This Week

HYANNIS – The Housing Assistance Corporation, in partnership with the Community Development Partnership, will be presenting a six-week Cape Housing Institute beginning tomorrow.

The Institute aims to provide municipal officials with the resources that they need to stimulate the region’s affordable housing inventory.

The weekly classes are free for elected and appointed officials across the Cape.

HAC CEO Alisa Galazzi says that the two organizations can accomplish more together, “The opportunity for our two nonprofit organizations to come together and figure out regionally how to address the problem and how to increase the capacity so everyone could be helping address this very important issue.”

Each week, the institute will focus on a separate topic related to developing affordable housing. The topics include developing a housing supply strategy, building community support, and funding sources, and how towns can work together to solve their affordable housing problems.

Throughout the program participants will hear from 11 presenters from the field of affordable housing development. Judi Barrett, economic development director for the Plymouth Regional Economic Development Foundation; attorney Peter Freeman, a partner at the Freeman Law Group in Yarmouth Port; Cape Cod Commission Affordable Housing Specialist Heather Harper; Laura Shufelt, assistant director of community assistance for Massachusetts Housing Partnership; architect Richard Fenuccio, president of Brown, Lindquist, Fenuccio & Raber Architects, Inc. in Yarmouth Port.

“Boy is creating housing, and especially affordable housing, complicated,” said Jay Coburn CEO of the Community Development Partnership, “It takes a lot of knowledge, a lot of skills, and support and I think a lot of folks going to get into these positions where they’re wanting to contribute but really kind of lack the skills and experience and knowledge.”

The institute is tied to a larger initiative from both HAC and CDP to address the region’s housing needs. In 2018, the two agencies will offer Advocacy Training for anyone interested in serving as a champion for more affordable housing on Cape Cod and the Islands and introduce a public education campaign focused on the need for more affordable housing in the region.

By David Beatty, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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