The ground was officially broken on the Bellevue Veterans Community, a neighborhood of 12 permanently affordable year-round rental homes for low- and moderate-income veterans, Thursday afternoon. The land, which is town-owned in Oak Bluffs, will also include a community room.
The neighborhood, located at 50 Bellevue Ave. and developed by Island Housing Trust, the town of Oak Bluffs, and the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center (CIVOC), “represents years of planning, collaboration, advocacy, fundraising, and community support, ” a press release from Philippe Jordi, CEO of IHT, stated. IHT led the design, permitting, financing, and construction efforts, while CIVOC plans to manage the community and provide “wraparound” services for the veteran residents. Jordi said the project is $7.6 million plus $935,000 for off-site infrastructure.
At the ceremony Thursday, Mark Leonard, Oak Bluffs Select Board member and Army veteran, said his father was an Air Force veteran and that safe and specialized housing would have helped his father enormously if it had been available while he was alive. He said the project, once built, will provide a space of dignity and care for veterans for years to come.
Once completed, the neighborhood will be available to veterans earning up to 30 percent, 50 percent, and 80 percent of the area median income (AMI) are eligible to apply for Bellevue, according to the press release. The apartments are one bedroom, so for a one or two-person household, income can range from $34,000 (30 percent of AMI for one person) to $85,000 (80 percent AMI for two people), Jordi said.
Jordi said a certificate of occupancy, when people are able to move in, is expected in December of next year. There is not currently an interest list, but Jordi said applications will be shared in the coming months with veteran support groups on the Island.
The neighborhood is financially supported by Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation, Charlesbank Homes Foundation, Cape Code 5 Foundation, the Couch Family Foundation, Santander Bank, and private donors, as well as investments from state and federal housing programs, lenders, and public agencies, the release stated.
The press release also stated that Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School students Calahan D’Arcy, Harrison Lazarus, and Matthew MacMillan through Project Freedom Fighter helped raise funds and awareness of housing needs of Island veterans.
“Their collective support helped close the significant funding gap often associated with creating affordable housing on Martha’s Vineyard and demonstrates the importance of public-private partnerships in addressing the Island’s housing challenges,” the release stated.
