Affordable housing trust pauses 91B Main Street acquisition after environmental findings; CHDC pushes for ‘affordable’ language

The Concord Affordable Housing Trust voted not to pursue acquiring 91B Main Street after receiving an environmental assessment that raised concerns about contamination at an adjacent former gas station site at the Route 2/62 corner, Trust Chair Keith Bergman told the chairs’ breakfast. The trust had set aside about $500,000 in ARPA funds for the planned acquisition; Bergman said the trust will reconvene to decide how to allocate those funds.

Julie Mccclure of the Concord Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) said the CHDC delivered a letter to the select board noting the conspicuous absence of the word "affordable" in the MCI master‑plan charge and requested that affordable housing be explicitly stated as a goal. CHDC also announced a volunteer Habitat for Humanity build on May 1 (morning) at the Asabet River Homes site and said it is working with the trust on a buy‑down agreement to create a home‑ownership opportunity to meet SHI standards.

Bergman said the environmental issues are not necessarily at the 91B site itself but at a nearby corner lot whose findings affected assessments of the development area; the trust cited those results in deciding not to proceed. CHDC said it was disappointed about the 91B outcome but relieved to have learned early in the process. CHDC and the trust will continue to coordinate on buy‑down strategies and future affordable‑housing opportunities.

No formal motion or town‑meeting article tied directly to the 91B site was recorded during the briefing; next steps were described as further committee discussion and coordination.