HUD PRO Housing Grant Offsite Construction Strategy

Purpose/Goal
The working group will be focused on understanding offsite construction, through presentations from subject matter experts and potential site visit(s) to manufacturing facilities and sites with modular development. Once the group has a solid understanding offsite construction, the work will shift to exploring the regulatory barriers – both regionwide and specifically in participating municipalities. Regulatory barriers may be found in local zoning codes, local and state building codes, permitting processes and requirements, or other controls.

A focus group with construction lenders will increase understanding of financial regulations that may hinder the use of offsite construction methods. The group will likely convene additional focus groups and conduct interviews to better understand regulatory conditions and opportunities for policy/regulatory interventions. Peer regions such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco will be studied to understand where Greater Boston may be unique or similar and what case studies or best PRO Housing Grant Application 6 practices employed elsewhere may be applicable in Greater Boston.

Findings from this research will be presented to the group to inform recommendations for policy and regulatory change. 

Members: municipal and state regulators, developers, architects, manufacturers, lenders, etc. 

Purpose
State entities also have resources to encourage and influence housing production. MAPC will convene the working group to work with state and municipal leaders and staff to explore different options for creating a pipeline of likely or permitted projects that could serve as an incentive for a new manufacturing facility to locate in Greater Boston. The group will explore smaller scale projects that allow for more on the project learning, aiming to not negatively impact the existing employment systems.

MAPC will work with individual municipalities to develop their pipeline and provide confidence of future construction. Potentially, state partners may identify opportunities to incentivize the facility or help cities and towns to meet build out their pipeline of units. This group will also discuss and recommend how to pace unit creation/installation to ensure housing production is increasing across all participating communities and how to track and evaluate unit placement. Tracking will be important to measure how this project advances fair housing and racial equity goals.

Lastly, the group will prepare guidance on how modular housing can be coupled with traditional construction methods to combat the overall housing shortage. This guidance could include identifying the types of development better suited for offsite construction components in the future, where prefabricated components could improve or enhance older housing stock, or what sites might be better suited for modular or prefabricated homes. 

Members: municipal leaders and staff; state housing partners; community-based developers 

Purpose
MAPC and the participating municipalities are committed to securing good jobs, benefits, and worker protections for residents. This working group, alongside a variety of labor and workforce partners and economic development professionals will aim to understand challenges and opportunities to securing good jobs, wages, benefits, and protections for local workers manufacturing and installing modular housing in Greater Boston. We also hope to better understand how onsite construction has already been utilizing offsite or prefabricated components, as we understand this is happening in Greater Boston.

Additionally, part of this research will look into the impacts of expanding this type of manufacturing to employ historically under-resourced groups like women, people of color, and people with less educational attainment. The group will also hold focus groups with local workers – in both construction and trade and manufacturing jobs – to better understand workforce challenges, opportunities, and needs. The group’s work will culminate in recommendations for labor requirements to be included in any solicitation or incentives for the manufacturing facility. 

Members: Representatives from Greater Boston Labor Council, Massachusetts Building Trades Council, Carpenters Union (North Atlantic States Regional Council), and/or other labor organizations; regional economic development planners and researchers; municipal leaders and staff; and other stakeholders, to be determined from subsequent outreach and engagement 

Purpose
The working group will identify suitable sites for a new manufacturing facility given all key considerations such as transportation, logistics etc. The group will conduct focus groups and interviews with owners and operators of manufacturing facilities to understand what site characteristics are most desired to best meet their needs and enable a facility to get online and run most quickly and efficiently.

The group will explore different options with partnering municipalities, including redevelopment of vacant industrial spaces, consideration of one large site vs. multiple smaller sites, etc. The group will also explore the different incentives to include in the solicitation and will make a recommendation to the overall Advisory Group about facility siting and work with the host municipality(s) and their legal counsel to prepare for solicitation.

Municipal leaders and staff; economic development planners and researchers