August 5, 2024

Greenfield receives nearly $1M in funding for infrastructure, housing

BY Mark GardynaNew England Public Media

Greenfield has received a federal grant which will be used towards several town initiatives. The Community Development Block Grant — or CDBG — is a federal program which provides funding to local towns and cities to help build up local communities for people who earn a low to moderate income.

Greenfield is listed as a mini-entitlement community under the Massachusetts CDBG program. In order to receive the funding from the grant, the city must apply and receive approval from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for each project it wishes to fund.

A quarter of the funds will be allocated towards rehabilitating at least four homes belonging to low and moderate income earners in the city. The cost of home rehabilitation gets offered to homeowners as a loan that can be forgiven after 15 years, as long as the homeowner doesn’t decide to sell the home within that time span.

More than $200,000 of the grant will be spent on designs and plans to replace Greenfield’s aging water main system.

“A lot of communities infrastructure is one of the biggest issues with pipes aging,” said Matt Conway, the communications director for the city of Greenfield. “Some are as old as a century at this point. So this funding will finance the design and engineering phase.”

The grant will be expected to cover around 15% of the total cost of overhauling the city’s water main system. The actual replacement of the system will be expected to get underway throughout the next five years.

The CDBG grant will also be put towards Greenfield’s social services programs such as homeless prevention programs run by Community Legal Aid and the Wildflower Alliance. The rest will go towards microenterprise assistance in the form of both workshops and investment capital for small business owners the qualify.

“This CDBG funding round will leave a lasting impact on Greenfield,” said Mayor Virginia Desorgher in a statement. “I am proud that the funds effectively address a variety of important issues in our community.”