When Habitat For Humanity Nantucket opened up the application process for three new affordable homes it is building on Benjamin Drive, they were expecting roughly three dozen potential applicants. They got nearly double that.
In yet another indication of the severity of the island’s housing crisis, the island chapter of Habitat For Humanity received 65 applications from people interested in applying for the organization’s three new homeownership opportunities.
“We were really surprised,” said Gennifer Costanzo, Habitat’s development and communications coordinator. “Some people said they were not surprised to hear that. But as an organization, we were surprised.”
The duplex and single-family home – all two-bedroom, two-bathroom units – will be the result of a collaboration among Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit Housing Nantucket, the Nantucket Housing Authority, which owns the land, and the town. Three lucky, qualified applicants who meet the eligibility criteria (a household earning less than 80 percent of the area median income) will soon be the owners of this micro-development off Miacomet Road, located among the Housing Authority’s existing rental properties.
“This is a really good example of many stakeholders coming together,” Costanzo said.
While Costanzo anticipates that nearly half of the applicants will be declined due to their assets or income being over the specified limit, there will still be a significant number of individuals and families crossing their fingers when the lottery is held next Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. Two of the homes are designated for “local preference” – meaning they are dedicated for island residents – while the third is for the so-called “open pool” meaning it is open to any qualified Massachusetts applicant regardless of their current residency due to state requirements for affordable homes. But Costanzo said all but one of the applicants were Nantucket residents.
The modular homes are expected to arrive on the island in mid-May, following completion of the foundations (each home will have a full, unfinished basement). As a condition of being selected to buy one of the homes, each qualified applicant is required to contribute 350 hours of their time toward the construction effort.
The three homes will mark just the latest success in Habitat For Humanity’s ongoing housing initiatives across the island. Since the founding of the local Habitat organization in 2001, the non-profit has completed 15 homes – all homeownership opportunities that continue to house the original buyers – that are deed restricted to remain affordable in perpetuity.
After a brief building pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, Habitat recently completed its latest affordable home – a duplex at 31 Beach Grass Road – located within the Richmond Great Point development off Old South Road. The new homeowners, including longtime island resident Richard Ho-Shue, are now moved in.
Each of the 15 Habitat For Humanity homes on the island were built by community volunteers and the future owners, relying on community donations of cash, land, materials and professional services to reach completion.
“We’re glad to be back in the building business, it’s what Habitat does best,” Costanzo said. “It changes generations and gets people out of the rental rut. We’re looking forward to building more.”
