Northampton, MA – December 19, 2024 – The Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Main program today awarded the Cooperative Development Institute $17,890,795 to implement infrastructure projects at resident-owned communities representing thousands of households across the Northeast, helping to preserve the affordability and sustainability of homes in our region.
In addition, PRICE funding will allow CDI’s Water Infrastructure Support Program (WISP) to expand to provide ongoing infrastructure technical assistance to interested resident-owned manufactured housing communities that CDI has helped form across New England. This assistance includes supporting communities to raise additional funding for their drinking water, wastewater, storm water, and electrical infrastructure projects; project management and regulatory support; and capacity building so that communities can maintain and replace their shared infrastructure for future generations.
Costly water infrastructure failures
Manufactured Home Communities (MHCs) are an essential source of affordable housing in the Northeast. However, their infrastructure is often at the end of its useful lifespan, many being original to when the communities were built 50 to 70 years ago. Major investment is needed to sustain the affordability of these communities for the long term, but resident-owners face challenges in securing the funding. The populations of these communities are often small, low-income and they have limited capacity to navigate the complexities of applying for state and federal funding, which are often geared toward municipalities. WISP helps eligible communities connect with available funding sources, manage resources, and execute their infrastructure projects.
Sunset Terrace, a resident-owned manufactured home park in Rockland, Maine, is one of the communities that will receive support from the grant for their infrastructure projects. The majority of the roads, lots, and infrastructure in the 76-home, 3-acre community were built in the 1990s, according to George Kris, president of the board at Sunset Terrace and a retired power plant operator who has lived in the community with his wife for 22 years.
Today, the water infrastructure is deteriorating, and it was originally poorly installed, causing frequent leaks, flooding, and erosion of home foundations, Krise said.
“Our water systems have been failing frequently for a while,” said Krise. “When we [the residents] purchased the property, we asked the previous owners where the water mains and other infrastructure was located. All they gave us was a hand-written diagram. We dug up one of the water mains and found that some parts were made of two-inch electrical conduits, which isn’t standard construction for a water main. It gives us no confidence that any of the infrastructure was properly installed and maintained before us.”
“I’m elated to get this grant for our community,” Krise continued. “It will be so helpful in providing safe drinking water in our park. Thank you to everyone who has been working with us over the years including CDI who helped us throughout this entire process. Thank you to the members of the park and our board for doing all the paperwork and getting the votes. Thank you to Senator Susan Collins for writing a letter of support for us to receive this grant.”
“Today is a huge day for resident-owned communities across the Northeast,” said Jeremiah Ward, Director of CDI’s WISP Program. “Thousands of households living in dozens of resident-owned communities (ROCs) across the Northeast can sleep a little better at night knowing that their infrastructure projects have been funded. This award would not have been possible without the hard work of dozens of ROC leaders who have worked tirelessly to communicate with policymakers about their need to fund safe drinking water, waste and storm water treatment, and electrical infrastructure improvements. WISP is excited to get to work on these projects!”
Resident-Owned Communities
Residents of many manufactured home communities own their homes but not the land underneath them, making them vulnerable to unaffordable rent-hikes, mismanagement, and deteriorating infrastructure. CDI helps residents organize, form cooperatives, and purchase their communities (the land underneath their homes) so that they can own and manage their parks.
CDI has 15 years of experience helping residents of manufactured home communities to purchase and manage their communities. CDI’s New England Resident Owned Communities (NEROC) Program has helped manufactured home community residents in CT, ME, MA, NY, RI, and VT raise more than $300 million to form 61 resident-owned communities, serving 6,168 households since its launch in 2009. NEROC continues working with resident-owned communities post-purchase by providing day-to-day operations, management and governance support.
CDI launched WISP in 2023 with funding from USDA Rural Development in response to the clear need for a dedicated program to assist MHCs with financing and completing their water infrastructure projects. Since launching, WISP has now helped ROCs raise nearly $30 million in funding for their infrastructure projects.
CDI is a ROC USA Certified Technical Assistance Provider. The ROC USA model has successfully ensured long-term housing affordability and stability among 338 ROCs across the country by eliminating profit-driven rent increases, adding dissolution restrictions to fully remove the property from the speculative real estate market, requiring a limited equity structure, and affirmatively marketing available housing to low- or moderate-income residents.
Press Contact:
Heather Holland, Communications Director
e: hholland@cdi.coop
About CDI:
The Cooperative Development Institute (CDI) is a nationally recognized nonprofit and leader, serving communities in the Northeast including New England and New York. Our mission is to develop and strengthen cooperatives to grow a more prosperous and equitable economy. With more than 30 years of experience in cooperative development, CDI addresses the unique needs of our communities by developing and supporting a wide range of cooperative enterprises including housing, businesses and start-ups, and employee ownership transitions.
