PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 1Berkshire, in partnership with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) announced the launch of A Housing Vision for the Berkshires.

 

The regional strategy, which was developed with the support of a  working group comprising housing practitioners from throughout Berkshire County, is intended to lead more intentional efforts to address the current housing crisis.

 

According to the 2019 Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, housing was identified as a key theme. The report indicated that there were 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 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 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", said Tom Matuszko, executive director of BRPC.

 

The coalition will continue to collaborate and work towards a more permanent 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. 

 

"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," Jonathan Butler, 1Berkshire President & CEO said. "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."