Housing Choice Designation Participating Grant/Benefit Programs

Program Information

In addition to getting exclusive access to the Housing Choice Grant Program through the Community One Stop for Growth, all designated Housing Choice Communities receive additional consideration, priority, and benefits from various programs offered through several state agencies in the Commonwealth.

Participating grant programs:

	Agency/Grant Program	Grant Brief Description	Housing Choice Community Designation Benefit
1	EEA – Gateway Park Grants Gateway City Parks Program | Mass.gov	Funds to assist Gateway Cities with all aspects of park and trail creation and restoration.	Consideration given to Housing Choice Communities in grant evaluation and in the matching requirement.
2	EEA – LAND Grant Program Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) Grant Program | Mass.gov	Acquisition of conservation land.	Bonus points for grant evaluation score for Housing Choice Communities.
3	EEA – Land Use Planning Assistance Grants Planning Assistance Grants | Mass.gov	Technical assistance grants to encourage land use regulations that advance Administration development objectives.	Housing Choice consistent housing production is prioritized and bonus points given for Housing Choice Communities.
4	EEA – PARC Grant Program Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities (PARC) Grant Program | Mass.gov	Acquisition of recreation land, construction of new parks, renovation of existing parks.	Bonus points for grant evaluation score for Housing Choice Communities.
5	EOED – MassWorks MassWorks Infrastructure Program | Mass.gov	Grants to municipalities for infrastructure improvements to support economic development and housing production.	Bonus points for grant evaluation score for Housing Choice Communities
6	EOED – Seaport Council Grants Seaport Economic Council Programs and Grants | Mass.gov	Grants to municipalities for planning and infrastructure improvements to support the marine economy.	Housing Choice Communities may have required 20% match waived and/or the $1Million grant amount may be exceeded for eligible applicants.
7	MassDOT – Capital Program Capital Investment Plan (CIP) | Mass.gov	Reconstruction and expansion projects that go through MassDOT’s scoring & project selection process.	For capital transportation projects, MassDOT will give bonus points to projects located within Housing Choice Communities.
8	MassDOT – Complete Streets Complete Streets Funding Program | Mass.gov	Technical Assistance and Construction grants for communities to implement complete streets principals.	Bonus points for grant evaluation score for Housing Choice Communities.
9	TRE/DEP – Clean Water Trust Housing Choice Loan Program | Mass.gov	2% interest loans for water pollution abatement and drinking water infrastructure projects.	1.5% interest rate instead of 2% interest rate, reducing debt service costs for communities.