Mashpee, MA – State and local officials recently gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony at LeClair Village Apartments, a new three-building complex in Mashpee featuring 39 affordable rental units.
The property is named after Mary LeClair, a long-time champion of housing issues on Cape Cod and a former board member at Housing Assistance. “I’m speechless to think that kids will go to school and say they’re from LeClair Village,” said LeClair, who lives in Mashpee and continues to advocate for housing and other causes at the age of 89.
Michael Jackman, district director for U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, presented LeClair with a citation during the ceremony. Also speaking at the event were State Rep. Kip Diggs; State Rep. Steven Xiarhos; Thomas O’Hara, Mashpee Select Board vice chairman and member of the Affordable Housing Trust; Yongmei Chen, senior vice president, Eastern Bank; and Rev. Thomas Wyndham, a longtime friend of Mary Leclair.
The apartments, which are on town-owned land, will serve low- and moderate-income households. “This development will represent an 11% increase in the town’s affordable housing stock, a significant boost in a high-cost market where many seasonal employees and others struggle to find stable housing that they can afford,” said Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH) president and CEO, Aaron Gornstein.
LeClair Village is designed to be certified passive house under the Passive House Institute of the US (PHIUS) standard. The enclosure (slab, walls, windows and roof) is designed and built to be airtight and super thermal performing. With the airtight enclosure and mechanized ventilation, the building and apartments are designed to provide excellent air quality and comfort to residents. It will also include a rooftop solar array and a battery for emergency back-up.
LeClair Village Apartments is under development through a partnership between Housing Assistance Corporation and POAH, with POAH serving as lead developer. The project’s design and construction team is DREAM Collaborative Architects, Horsley Witten Engineering and Delphi Construction. When completed by the summer of 2024, LeClair Village will feature 14 one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedroom units, and 4 three-bedroom apartments.
Project partners include Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Barnstable County HOME Consortium, Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC), Eastern Bank and Mashpee Affordable Housing Trust.
