Franklin Celebrates One More Affordable House

By J.D. O’Gara

On Monday, June 9th, stakeholders in the Franklin Housing Authority’s acquisition of a long -time vacant property at 813 Summer Street, Franklin joined Rep. Jeff Roy for a celebration and tour of the recently renovated three-bedroom, 1 and ½ bath property, now leased to an income-eligible family of three. The home, complete with all new kitchen cabinets and counters, dining room, living room, flooring, heating, electrical and landscaping, is now part of the Town’s affordable housing stock through perpetuity. Attendees recounted the steps taken to add this property to Franklin’s affordable housing offerings, noting the scarcity of such housing options to the community at large.

Rep. Roy, who organized the event, welcomed the group that “came together to create a new home. This action goes to the issue that lies at the heart of social justice and human dignity and that is the impact of public housing,” which Roy explained as “not a charity; it’s a social contract, and a collective commitment to ensuring to the basic human right known as shelter. Across our country  millions of individuals and families struggle to afford a safe place to live…public housing steps in where the private market fails.”

Roy went over the history of what went into bringing this property into the fold of public housing, which began with an email from Susan Speers, of Metacomet Land Trust looking for creative solutions to get the property, illegally mortgaged and later foreclosed, back into the public housing arena. The process involved legal discussions with Roy, Attorney Mike Doherty, and local officials, outreach to Sen. Markey’s and Congressman Auchincloss’ offices to connect to HUD and ultimately the return of the property to Bank of America.

From there, Roy worked with former State Sen. Paul Whiteand the bank to get the property transferred to Franklin Housing in 2023. Franklin Housing then put the necessary work into the home to make it habitable and bring it up to code.

“This work and these actions clearly demonstrate if we put our heads together and  use our tools, our knowledge, our relationships and goodwill, together we can make things happen,” said Roy.

The representative introduced Maurice Coleman, SVP of Bank of America, who thanked all of those involved “for your commitment to improving the lives of so many,” adding, “Today isn’t just about the transfer of property; today is really about taking what was a vacant house and making it this incredible, vibrant, affordable home. Today is really about developing community. That’s something we take great pride in…”

George Danello, Chair of the Franklin Housing Authority, noted that the Housing Authority, which has worked with Metacomet Land Trust since 2010, “never stopped; we always knew that we had to get this done…” He noted that the need for affordable housing in Franklin has gone up “six, seven-fold” from when he began in 1997. “The local need, which was 50-60 back then, is now 445 local families looking for housing just from the Franklin community looking for a home. The need is vast. We’re totally committed to helping people, one house at a tie if we have to do that. But we’re thrilled to be here.”

In fact, Lisa Audette, Executive Director of Franklin Housing Authority, told Local Town Pages that overall, 24,000 applicants have applied to live in affordable housing in Franklin, with about 450 Franklin residents. She spoke to the group on behalf of the current residents of the refurbished home. “The family that lives here can’t thank all of the participants enough. It’s an opportunity to live in a place where there is no stigma. They’re on a residential street in a nice town. They have the opportunity of a lifetime, and they’re very, very thankful.”

Marc Lannigan, from Sen. Markey’s office, offered, “This is the best of what government can do and should be doing. This is government that works, government that functions, government that is working for the people of Franklin, working for this community, so this is the sort of thing that the Senator leads on and wants to lead on in Washington, DC.”

Not all of those who worked to make the property part of Franklin Housing Authority’s offerings were present at the ceremony. According to a previous article posted on Franklin Matters in August, 2023, “supporters included: State Representative Jeffrey Roy, Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator, Lisa Mosczynski, President, Metacomet Land Trust (MLT) and all of MLT’s Board of Directors including Treasurer Susan Speers, Attorney Michael Doherty, Attorney Richard Cornetta, Chairman Christopher Vericker, Franklin Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT) and all MAHT’s Trust Members including Christopher Feeley, Bank of America, Dean Bank, George Danello, Chairman of the Franklin Housing Authority (FHA) and all FHA Board Members.”