Housing Assistance Launches $5 Million Campaign

Housing Assistance announced on July 17 that it is embarking on a $5 million capital campaign to increase accessible housing on the Cape.

The campaign aims to “preserve the American dream on Cape Cod” according to a press release.

The initiative has been met with public support, with a $1 million gift from Cape Cod Healthcare announced at Housing Assistance’s recent Champagne and Oysters event. There have been a number of other contributions, including a $100,000 donation from Cape Cod 5.

This $5 million fund will contribute to the $125 million in projects that Housing Assistance is executing to build “quality housing” for local families and individuals. The program will build 250 new homes, offering permanent housing to 575 families and individuals. Housing Assistance will soon break ground on 14 affordable units at 107 Main St. in Orleans.

The support comes at a pivotal time for the Cape, said Housing Assistance CEO Alisa Magnotta.

“Our community is in the grip of an unprecedented and unrelenting housing crisis,” she said. “With record-high demand and runaway costs, the American Dream of homeownership is out of reach for far too many on Cape Cod.”

Housing Assistance Board Chair Bill Bogdanovich of Broadreach Healthcare shared some alarming statistics regarding the local housing market. “In the past six years we have seen the median price for a home on Cape Cod increase by 83 percent, requiring incomes well over $200,000 per year to obtain a mortgage,” he said. In such an inhospitable market, it is nearly impossible for a large number of year-round Cape residents to own a home.

“This is unsustainable for our young families, our first responders, our teachers, and our healthcare workers — the people we count on each day to make the Cape work,” Bogdanovich said.

The work being done by Housing Assistance has the potential to revolutionize the Cape Cod real estate market and make the future of homeownership more inclusive, said Magnotta.

“With historic investments in housing from the state and increased capacity at Housing Assistance, we are poised to add housing that will protect our year-round residents, who are the backbone of our economy and the future of our region,” she said.

To donate or learn more, contact Housing Assistance Chief Development Officer Anne Van Vleck at avanvleck@haconcapecod.org or 508-771-5400 ext. 228.