Select Board OKs Old Tote Road Transfer

ORLEANS – Housing Assistance Corporation plans to renovate an existing mixed-use building on Old Tote Road into four housing units, two of which will be deed restricted as affordable.

The select board voted 3-0-1 Feb. 4 in support of awarding the property at 22 Old Tote Rd. to HAC. Mark Mathison of the select board abstained from the vote.

The award came at the recommendation of the town’s affordable housing trust board, which has been working with the owners of the property, Robert and Marjorie Sparrow, on a transfer and sale in recent months. The Sparrows, who own the Hot Chocolate Sparrow, approached the town with interest in selling the parcel to the town.

“The Sparrow family, which has had a local business forever and really gets the housing challenges, is another intimate matchmaking, and the generosity of them to make sure that they’re doing their part to make sure that that problem isn’t quite as big is wonderful,” said Andrea Reed of the select board.

Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development Elizabeth Jenkins said the building currently houses two dwelling units and two “underutilized office units.” The plan is to convert the entire building into four units of housing, including two one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units.

Two of the units will be deed restricted as affordable. One of the deeded units would be restricted for people who make up to 80 percent of the area median income in Barnstable County, while the other will be reserved for those who make up to 120 percent of AMI, she said.

Jenkins said HAC was the lone respondent to a request for proposals for developers interested in renovating the property. HAC plans to put $475,000 into the project, which Jenkins said is close to a match of the town’s $497,980 in contributions through the affordable housing trust fund, according to supplemental materials on the project provided in the packet for the Feb. 4 meeting.

While only two of the four units will be deed restricted, Jenkins said all four units have been underwritten to ensure that they will be affordable to renters who make between 80 and 120 percent of AMI. She estimated that each unit will rent for about $2,000 a month.

In a letter to Jenkins dated Dec. 5, HAC’s vice president of real estate development David Quinn said the project would help renters with incomes between $75,000 and $130,000 stay on the Cape.

“We are excited about this opportunity which aligns with our focus on serving the missing middle,” Quinn said. “Housing Assistance has been at the forefront of pursuing innovative models to serve a broader array of housing needs on Cape Cod.”

Michael Herman of the select board asked if there are any conditions restricting the units as year-round rentals. Jenkins said that a development agreement between the town and HAC could include those conditions. That agreement is expected to be completed in March, according to HAC’s proposed timeline.

Herman also said he would like to see the property be redeveloped to be all-electric, similar to HAC’s new property at 107 Main St.

“Not in the RFP, but we could certainly have that conversation with them during the [drafting of] the development agreement,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said that HAC plans to break ground on the renovation by January and for the building to be ready for occupancy by July of next year.

Reed celebrated the town’s partnership with HAC on the project, noting other projects the nonprofit has undertaken both locally and elsewhere, including Nantucket, that demonstrate its commitment to the Cape and Islands.

“As a partner in the community, there is great trust that they bend over backwards, that they know where they are and where is home,” she said.

For Select Board Chair Kevin Galligan, the Old Tote Road project could serve as an example of how the town might create more housing in the future. He said smaller projects with local partners could overtake larger developments as the norm.

 “This actually may be more of what’s to come,” he said.