Somerville Community Land Trust hosted a forum last night to discuss their community land trust and ties to eviction. A number of interesting facts emerged. First, the city is in the unusual political position where elected officials are working to affiliate themselves with affordable housing preservation and development projects. Usually, politicians try to distance themselves from local affordable housing efforts.
Second, the Somerville Community Land Trust has completed its first new construction project and the units are now available. The building at 7 Summer is less than 1/2 mile from the green line. The one and two bedroom apartments start at $264,000 for a 2 bedroom. While that might seem like quite a bit for an “affordable” condo, SCLT estimates that the total costs for new construction in Somerville are approximately $500,000 – $600,000 per unit. Indeed, compare this to nearby and recently sold 33 Summer Street. That 2-bedroom condo went for $650,000.
There is some fine (and here I also mean fine, as in “of high quality”) print worth noting. The condo fee will be around $300 and is inclusive of the ground lease. That means some of that fee goes to the SCLT for use of the land underneath the house.
