For additional information, please contact:
Jonathan Butler
President & CEO, 1Berkshire
JButler@1Berkshire.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1Berkshire and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission Launch A Housing Vision for the Berkshires
March 30, 2022 – Berkshire County, MA – 1Berkshire, in partnership with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) and with support of a broad working group comprising housing practitioners from throughout Berkshire County, is excited to announce the launch of A Housing Vision for the Berkshires, a regional strategy intended to lead more intentional efforts to address the current housing crisis.
Housing was identified as a key cross-cutting theme in 2019’s Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, with large supply gaps identified for quality, affordable, and proximal housing for those seeking to live and work in the region. The impacts of the pandemic have accelerated the demand for housing and significantly driven up housing costs for both renters and homebuyers. In 2020, the working group began convening, including dozens of additional regional partners and housing practitioners aspiring to capture data, identify challenges and opportunities, and provide outreach to additional groups of community stakeholders throughout Berkshire County.
A Housing Vision for the Berkshires is the first product to come out of this work, and is intended to act as a phase one to begin addressing systemic challenges in housing development. The report itself features over 60 recommended strategies to help catalyze more development, while expanding representation in the process to include more diverse communities and populations that have lived experiences but who have not historically been properly engaged in the process of identifying solutions to housing challenges. “Through the implementation of these strategies, we hope housing options will become more readily available and affordable for all, including populations under the greatest current pressure”, stated Tom Matuszko, Executive Director of BRPC.
Recognizing that a report itself is not enough to compel sustained action, the coalition will continue to collaborate and work towards a more permanant model, the group has also secured $150,000 in ARPA funding from the Berkshire Legislative Delegation to support continued work and follow through in the coming years. Jonathan Butler, 1Berkshire President & CEO notes “This has been an important initial process to work through, but it’s critical that there is a system in place for continued advocacy and implementation of action steps. Thanks to our leaders in the Berkshire Delegation, organizations like BRPC and Berkshire Housing Development Corporation will be able to provide much of that needed capacity.”
To view or download the report, please visit: 1berkshire.com/housing-vision/
About 1Berkshire
1Berkshire is a county-wide organization focused on economic development and promotion of the region as a preferred place to visit, to live, and to grow a business. It provides programs that connect businesses with each other and with potential customers and works to develop future leaders and support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit 1Berkshire.com.
About Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is the regional planning agency for Berkshire County, Massachusetts. BRPC assists the thirty-two Berkshire cities and towns in a diverse set of topics including community and economic development, community planning, data and information services, emergency preparedness planning, environmental and energy planning, regional services, public health and transportation planning. BRPC promotes regional collaboration among communities and works to increase coordination between all levels of government.
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