The Housing Choice Initiative rewards municipalities that have produced certain rates or amounts of new housing units in the last five years and that adopted best practices related to housing production that will sustain a 21st century workforce and increase access to opportunity for Massachusetts residents. Communities that achieve the Housing Choice designation, which lasts for two years, have exclusive access to apply for the Housing Choice Grant Program and receive bonus points or other considerations to certain state grant programs. In addition to the Housing Choice Designation and the Housing Choice Grant program, we recognize that many small towns face different challenges. Therefore, the Housing Choice Initiative also includes separate funding for the Small Town Housing Choice competitive capital grant program exclusively for towns with population under 7,000 (per 2017 US Census population estimates). Small Towns can also apply for Housing Choice Designation.
