Groundbreaking Housing for Veterans in Dracut

On Tuesday, May 25, CBA broke ground alongside coalition partners on our next housing development, and first project in the Town of Dracut. The revitalization of the 123-year old Dracut Centre School building will result in nine units of affordable housing for veterans. This project required significant effort to restore the historic building and revitalize the space into ADA compliant one and two-bedroom apartments.

During the ceremonial groundbreaking, Dracut officials noted the thousands of school children who attended school within this building over the years, and celebrated the next phase of its existence. Dracut Veterans Agent, Jeffrey Hollett, celebrated the teamwork that is required to undertake a project like this, “There is no one agency that can make this all happen, and you’re doing it for your community and for the veterans that are coming home. There’s so much more that we can do than say ‘Welcome home’, or ‘Thank you for your service’, and this epitomizes that.” Hollett also recalled the difficult transition of coming home from active duty and echoed the need for far-reaching veteran supports.

The Dracut Centre School site is located at 11 Spring Park Avenue in Dracut, and also served as the Dracut Town Hall Annex. CBA has been able to secure nearly $4 million to fund the Dracut project through tax credits, MassHousing, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and Community Preservation Funds provided by the Town of Dracut.