Suggestion board from the listening session at Berkshire Community College last year. The session was one of 14 across the state that informed the recent housing report.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A statewide study found that more than 220,000 homes must be built in the next decade to meet housing needs.

On Thursday, the Healey-Driscoll Administration released the initial results of "A Home for Everyone: A Comprehensive Housing Plan for Massachusetts," developed in collaboration with the Housing Advisory Council established when the $5.1 billion Affordable Homes Act was filed.

The report says Massachusetts needs to increase its year-round housing supply by at least 222,000 units from 2025 to 2035 to stay competitive and lower costs and "Every region of the state needs more homes in order to reach this statewide target."

During a visit to Pittsfield last April, a common theme that Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus Jr. heard was the challenge of housing construction.

He said the challenge in Berkshire County is that it costs nearly the same to build a 10 or 30-unit apartment building as it does in the Greater Boston area but you can't get the same rents or sale prices. This requires greater subsidies to make it work.
 
"I think the thing that makes me feel optimistic is you have got a lot of really good, engaged people out here in the Berkshires trying to figure it out. They're not overwhelmed by it, they're not daunted by it, they're kind of putting their heads together, they're building coalitions, they're finding allies to get it done and I think the group we just had around the table is an example of that," Augustus commented.
 
"If it's just housing advocates trying to do it, it's hard to push that rock up the hill but if you've got CEOs and college presidents and municipal leaders and other folks helping you lift that rock up the hill, it gets a little easier and so I think to the credit of the folks here in the Berkshires, they're working together to try to get it done."

In Pittsfield, the average single-family home value has increased by 44.8 percent from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025, now valued at $295,292. Since FY21, the average tax bill has increased by $275 per year because of rising property values, which is expected to continue for the next couple of years.

More than 3,000 people were engaged in the plan's development, including 14 regional listening sessions. One was held in Pittsfield at Berkshire Community College, where affordability, transportation, incentives, and equity were identified as vital areas related to housing development in the Berkshires.

Around 100 local officials, business and community leaders, and residents weighed in at the session attended by Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus Jr.

"I think we need to write into our constitution that housing is a right, it's going to be guaranteed," said Kamaar Taliaferro, a member of the Pittsfield Affordable Housing Trust, at the hearing last May.

Jonathan Butler, president & CEO of 1Berkshire, pointed out that Pittsfield has seen great success with the Housing Development Incentive Program but it is only available in gateway cities and needs to be expanded so that other communities can be eligible.

Last year, the program boosted Allegrone Construction Co.'s redevelopment of the historic Wright Building and the Jim's House of Shoes property with more than $4 million.

Pittsfield was the first community in the state to have a designated HDIP where tax incentives are provided to developers to undertake new construction or substantial rehabilitation of properties for lease or sale as multi-unit market-rate residential housing. Gov. Maura Healey has increased the HDIP in her tax cuts package, which has reportedly increased housing production in Gateway Cities by 600 percent.

In 2023, Healey visited the Morningstar Apartments on Tyler Street to tout her administration's work finding solutions for the housing crisis.

The state's plan analyzes the housing needs while identifying strategies for increasing home production, preserving and upgrading existing housing, supporting those struggling with homelessness, and using housing to create economic mobility for all Massachusetts residents.  

A full digital version will be launched in the spring.

Another initiative of the Affordable Homes Act is the by-right allowance of accessory dwelling units, which went into effect early this month and is expected to result in 8,000-10,000 across the state.

On the agenda for Tuesday's City Council meeting is the final approval of an ADU ordinance for Pittsfield.  

This ordinance allows one ADU by right in any 1-2 family residential use within the city, provides a special permit process and criteria for additional ADUs, and provides a size requirement for ADUs that matches state legislation. Under the current code, an ADU in a residential district cannot exceed 15 feet in height, cannot be located closer than 10 feet to the principal building, and cannot occupy more than 10 percent of the total lot.

"For the first time, Massachusetts has a statewide housing plan. Our administration is not kicking the can down the road when it comes to addressing the high housing costs that are holding too many of our residents and our businesses back," Healey said in a press release.

"This plan tells us exactly where we need to go and how we can get there to build hundreds of thousands of new units and make sure that everyone — our teachers, nurses, small business owners, seniors and families — can afford homes in our state. I'm grateful for the hard work of our Housing Advisory Council, under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Driscoll and Secretary Augustus, to develop this first-of-its-kind plan that is going to have a real impact for the people of Massachusetts."

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