HRA Meeting Date: April 4, 2024
To: Members of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority
From: Melissa Hanson, Housing Coordinator
Jake Reilly, Community Development Director
Title
Northcountry Cooperative Foundation (NCF) Update and Request.
Body
Action Requested:
To hear an update from Northcountry Cooperative Foundation's (NCF) activities related to the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and consider NCF's request for an amendment to extend the due diligence period for a period of at least six (6) months.
Summary Report:
On November 2, 2023, the Northfield Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) and NCF entered into a memorandum of understanding outlining the roles and responsibilities offered and assigned to NCF in its pursuit of a potential subdivision of the remaining HRA-owned undeveloped land in the Southbridge area. The MOU offered NCF a six-month due-diligence period to explore the financial and physical feasibility of said subdivision. The six-month period is nearing a close and NCF comes to the Board to provide an update and ask for an extension.
Table 1 shows the expectations of NCF as stated in the MOU and the status of those expectations. Sections of the MOU not directly relevant to NCF's work are not included in the table.
Table 1: Expectations stated in MOU
Background
The HRA owns approximately 7.27 acres of undeveloped land in the Southbridge area near Spring Creek Park. Adjacent to the HRA land, the City owns additional land. The HRA has been exploring a variety of development options to create affordable, environmentally sustainable, workforce housing citywide. Alongside a goal to incorporate a single-family ownership option in the Southbridge neighborhood, the HRA has stated a desire to fill the gaps in the Northfield housing market identified in both the 2021 Northfield Housing Report (Att. 1) and the April 2022 Housing + Education in Northfield Technical Assistance Assessment Findings (Att. 2) report commissio...
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