News  Healey-Driscoll Administration awards $1.9 million in first Seasonal Communities grants to support year-round housing and local workers

Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $1.9 million in fiscal 2026 Seasonal Communities Grant Program awards to help 14 communities advance year-round housing, strengthen local infrastructure and support the unique needs of places that experience significant seasonal swings in housing demand and employment.

The Seasonal Communities Grant Program supports cities and towns that have accepted the Seasonal Communities designation, which was created by Governor Maura Healey’s Affordable Homes Act. The designation recognizes Massachusetts communities with substantial seasonal variation in employment, housing demand and visitor populations, and provides tools and supports to expand year-round housing opportunities and strengthen local workforce stability.

All 14 communities that accepted the designation by Dec. 10, 2025, are receiving funding in this first round, with funds to be spent by June 30, 2026.

The grants will support a range of local projects — from planning, zoning and permitting work to wastewater, utility and site improvements — helping communities move faster on initiatives expected to leverage 229 or more year-round homes statewide.

“These grants are the Affordable Homes Act at work — helping seasonal communities move faster on the housing and infrastructure projects that keep year-round residents and local workers in the communities they call home,” said Governor Maura Healey. “From planning and permitting to critical wastewater and utility upgrades, we’re backing local leaders with resources they can put to work right away.”

“Seasonal communities are essential to Massachusetts’ economy, but too many workers and families are being priced out,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This new grant program gives communities real, practical support to create more year-round housing and strengthen the local systems that make housing possible.”

“These communities face distinct pressures — and they also have strong ideas about the tools and investments they need,” said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “Through these first grants, we’re supporting projects that will unlock housing production, preserve year-round homes and help communities make immediate progress on the priorities they’ve identified locally.”

Grant funds may be used for three broad categories of eligible activities: planning and zoning work, local actions that support housing development and public horizontal infrastructure projects that unlock housing development, including pre-construction and construction activities, that might not otherwise be possible. 

Fiscal 2026 Seasonal Communities Grant Program awards

• Aquinnah — $60,147 for predevelopment and infrastructure work supporting the Carl Widdis Way housing project and road design supporting a Wampanoag Tribe-owned property designated for affordable housing (8+ units unlocked).
• Chatham — $175,000 for design, engineering and permitting to develop 14 affordable units on town-owned land (14 units unlocked).
• Chilmark — $78,015 for site planning and utility infrastructure design for town-owned land designated for affordable and community housing (14+ units unlocked).
• Eastham — $175,000 for design and engineering for a mixed-use building and Main Street design and engineering work (2 units unlocked).
• Edgartown — $169,456 to extend and install essential utilities, including water, septic and power, supporting development of two new homes (2 units unlocked).
• Gosnold — $51,618 to replace approximately 750 feet of the main walkway from town to the ferry landing.
• Nantucket — $175,000 to update the Affordable Housing Trust’s governance documents, rehabilitate two trust-owned properties and complete due diligence on two trust-owned sites (42+ units unlocked).
• Oak Bluffs — $173,455 to support construction costs for the Bellevue Veterans Community, a town-led project (12 units unlocked).
• Orleans — $175,000 to create a Year-Round Housing Trust and support acquisition work and sewer connections for a four-unit project (4+ units unlocked).
• Provincetown — $134,692 for infrastructure and building upgrades at two town-owned properties to support housing, including work such as sewer connections, roof replacement and site work (28 units unlocked).
• Tisbury — $161,296 to support construction of a duplex with two affordable, year-round units (2 units unlocked).
• Truro — $106,723 for pre-construction design of a wastewater system for the Walsh Property, a town-owned future affordable housing development site (160 units unlocked).
• Wellfleet — $132,426 for work supporting housing and year-round residency, including a protective barrier at the wastewater treatment facility, an ADU assistance program, down payment and closing cost assistance and community engagement (3+ units unlocked).
• West Tisbury — $132,172 to support construction of four affordable, year-round duplexes (8 units unlocked). 

In total, these awards are expected to unlock 229 or more housing units statewide. 

Seasonal Communities designation and regulations

Earlier this month, the Healey-Driscoll Administration finalized Seasonal Communities regulations, establishing the implementation framework and providing designated communities with clear tools to create and preserve year-round housing. These new regulations officially take effect this Friday, Feb. 27. 

In December, the administration also expanded eligibility for the Seasonal Communities designation to 18 additional municipalities in Barnstable, Berkshire and Franklin counties, opening access to new tools, technical support and grant funding. 

Since that announcement, Rockport has also been offered the Seasonal Communities designation.

Communities must accept the designation to be eligible for the Seasonal Communities Grant Program. 

The Seasonal Communities designation builds on the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s broader work to bring down housing costs by increasing housing supply statewide. To build more homes, Governor Healey has taken action to speed up the permitting process, turn state land into thousands of new homes, convert downtown commercial space into apartments, create a first-in-the-nation fund to finance mixed-income development in a time of high interest rates, and legalize Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). This year, her administration will be offering low-cost financing and free designs for anyone who wants to add an ADU to their home. To help people afford their mortgages and rents right now, she banned mandatory renter-paid broker fees, gave seniors up to $2,800 a year to help with housing costs, and expanded home inspection protections.