Building underway in Middle Line Road project

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Building has begun in the Middle Line Road project, six rental units and six single-family houses, on 21 acres of heavily wooded town-owned land about a half-mile down Middle Line Road, a dirt road that runs northeast from Tabor House Road, just north of the town landfill.

In January, the town awarded six lease lots on the site to families that qualified on the basis of their income. The town made the awards by lottery, under the terms of a 99-year lease held by the town, and preference went to applicants who live in Chilmark, have lived in Chilmark, work, or volunteer in Chilmark. Each recipient paid a $20,000 fee to cover the town’s cost of developing the project.

One homeowner has already completed construction and moved in. Construction is underway on two other lots, and about to begin on another. The town will build and own the three duplexes, which will contain the six rental units.

At a July 6 meeting, selectmen chose Seaver Construction of Woburn as general contractor for the duplexes. According to Tim Carroll, Chilmark executive secretary, construction costs will total $1,909,965.

A total of $610,450 in Community Preservation Act funds will be spent on the Middle Line Road project, as authorized by town meeting voters. In December, special town meeting voters authorized the town to borrow an additional $1.4 million for construction and other costs. Previous legal work, site plans, land and rights acquisitions, wells, roads, utilities, and $38,721 to conduct an archaeological survey at the request of the Wampanoag Tribe, will bring the total cost of the affordable housing project to $3.5 million.