Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | June 27, 2022 | wbjournal.com F O C U S A R C H I T E C T U R E & C O N S T R U C T I O N BY ALAN R. EARLS Special to WBJ A s homelessness grows and as rental and home own- ership costs rise beyond the means of more and more people, policymakers and housing advocates have pushed for a variety of solutions, one of which is inclusionary zoning. Leah Bradley, CEO at Worcester nonprofit Central Massachusetts Hous- ing Alliance, Inc., is immersed in the challenge every day, dealing with the 600+ individuals completely homeless in the city and those others unable to afford a unit in the city. "ere are more and more folks who are employed who are having difficulty finding a unit … they can afford," she said. Is Inclusionary zoning what worcester needs to solve the housing shortage? Wanted: more homes and greater affordability In seven out of the nine zip codes in Worcester, the median income is lower than what's need- ed in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment, meaning half of the citizens can't afford market rates, "ose are also the zip codes that have a higher number of people of color, so we look at this as also a racial justice issue," she said. ose challenges are top-of-mind for city officials. "e primary benefit of inclusionary zoning is to add another tool to help increase the affordable housing stock in Worcester," said Peter Dunn, chief development officer for the City of Worcester. "Part of our strategic plan is to create opportunities for all, and this is a tangible example of implementing that strategy." However, Dunn did acknowledge the risk oen cited with inclusionary zoning, namely it could dissuade some developers from investing in the community. "We believe it's the right time for such a policy," he said. And, such a policy needs to apply across the city, applying to all multi-fam- ily development with 12 or more units, he said. "rough conversations we've had, developers seem to understand why we are making the recommendation at this time," he said. However, said Dunn, many mar- ket-rate housing projects still need assistance to make the economics work – tools like opportunity zones, various tax credit programs, and other forms of alternative financing are oen still needed to make a project viable. Fine-tuning inclusionary zoning Critics of IZ have equated it with rent control, which is generally seen as reducing incentives to invest in housing. "Personally, I don't think that IZ is quite the economists' bogeyman that rent control is, but the jury's still out on that one," said Andrew Mikula, who is completing a master's degree in urban A rendering of a proposed affordable housing development in Grafton Leah Bradley, CEO of Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, Inc. Andrew Mikula, research assistant at Pioneer Institute Downtown Worcester has seen more housing developments and renovations in the last five years, but the cost of housing has increased along with them. PHOTO | GRANT WELKER

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