Wellfleet Housing In The News
After 11 Years, Construction Begins on 4 Habitat Homes
Nash Badams learned to ride a bike in the summer of 2012. He was four years old, living with his recently divorced mother in a tent at Maurice’s Campground in Wellfleet.
It wasn’t until years later that he understood the gravity of his family’s housing situation, he said after the Nov. 2 wall-raising ceremony for the Habitat for Humanity house where he and his mother, Bridget, will live starting late next year.
An Initial ‘Community Conversation’ About Maurice’s
The excitement was palpable at the Adult Community Center as roughly 60 people filed in to discuss the future of Maurice’s Campground, the 22-acre parcel that the town bought in 2022 to create affordable housing.
'This is not simple.' Wellfleet has 21 acres for affordable housing but now what?
Cristina Mashoke works and lives at Maurice's Campground. On Aug. 5 she was cleaning cottages and helping a resident find a microwave. The 50-year-old lives in a trailer that her son purchased a few years ago. When he got into an affordable housing unit, he rented it out to her. She loves the community for its diversity, energy and supportive nature, but she doesn't know what renters would do or where they would live without the place.
Massachusetts Housing Partnership Recognizes Wellfleet with Housing Hero Award
Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) has recognized the Town of Wellfleet this month with a Housing Hero Award for its collaborative efforts and creativity in increasing affordable housing opportunities.
The town was recognized on June 8 in a virtual awards ceremony at MHP’s 15th Housing Institute, a two-day training conference for local officials and volunteers. Each year MHP recognizes communities and individuals for excellence in affordable housing and economic development. MHP is a state housing organization that uses bank funds and other capital sources to support and finance affordable housing.
If voters approve, Wellfleet will buy Maurice's Campground for $6.5 million
Taking advantage of a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," the Select Board has agreed to buy Maurice's Campground for $6.5 million, a deal the board says could go a long way in providing affordable housing.
On Friday the Select Board announced it had signed a purchase and sale agreement with the owners of the 21.5-acre property. Completing the sale will need voter approval at a special town meeting on Sept. 10. A closing date is scheduled for Oct. 31, pending approval.
'We've got to stem the bleeding': Addressing the Outer Cape’s housing crisis
Wellfleet and other towns on the Outer Cape have struggled to hire and retain essential service workers.
What happens when an idyllic seaside town prices out those who keep it running?
“A coffee shop is nice to have. But a fireman or a policeman … we are a community where the average age is well advanced compared to the state as a whole,” said Wellfleet resident Gary Sorkin. “So just someone to take care of you, so whether it’s a home health aide … in all the ways that older folks get taken care of. Those resources are becoming more and more scarce.”