Blackstone housing project deal with Soldier On a step closer to finalized
BLACKSTONE – The selectmen Tuesday unanimously voted to sign a land disposition and development contract with Soldier On, a private non-profit organization that will build a housing cooperative for homeless veterans on Elm Street.
The finalized agreement outlines the terms for the transfer of town-owned land, funding and a development plan for the proposed 150-unit housing project.
The agreement follows year-long discussions and negotiations between the town and Massachusetts-based Soldier On, which helps veterans reestablish their lives through housing and other services. The organization submitted a proposal to the town last year to win the chance to develop low- to moderate-income housing for veterans on a parcel on Elm Street that has been dormant for close to 20 years.
“We worked on this for more than a year and I want to thank Soldier On for stepping up to the plate,” Town Administrator Daniel M. Keyes told the selectmen Tuesday.
The contract includes a base site acquisition payment to the town of $500,000 for the 24 acres that will be developed, plus additional payments as the development goes forward.
The agreement also includes a $25,000 payment to the town for a third party peer review.
The housing project is expected to be built within the next three years.
Soldier On is proposing a 150-unit housing project similar to its 71-bed transitional living facility in Pittsfield, Mass, where veterans own their own one-bedroom and loft-style apartments, in a community with other veterans. The Blackstone project would be built by Soldier On, which would pay property taxes to the town. As part of the deal, Soldier On will pay for a new soccer and softball field on site, which will be constructed by the town.
The plan is to build the athletic fields first. The housing would be built around that in increments over a period of two to three years.
The town had issued a request for proposals under the state's uniform procurement act to solicit bids, and Soldier On was the only developer to submit a proposal.
Special Town Meeting voters in February of last year approved a change of use for a portion of Veterans Park - a large expanse of vacant land on Elm Street that has been sitting idle since 1997. Approval of the article was an important first step to allow the property to be developed for low- to moderate-income housing for veterans, which will take the form of a permanent housing cooperative constructed by Soldier On. It will be the group’s fourth housing location in Massachusetts.
The Veterans Park land was purchased by the town years ago as a public water supply. While a portion of that property is restricted for that use, the remainder of the property has been vacant.
Soldier On’s Blackstone facility will be modeled after the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community, a housing model that is being replicated nationally by Soldier On. That facility was built at a cost of $6.1 million with a combination of federal, local, and private foundation money and is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Human Development and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The veterans pay anywhere between $580 and $682 for rent. They also pay $2,500 to buy a limited-equity ownership in the development, which allows them to share in the success and maintenance of the community mutually.