HUD PRO Housing Grant Offsite Construction Strategy

Background image of large wooden boxes side by side inside of a large construction warehouse. Over the background image on top of a light blue background is text that says, "PRO Housing Grant: Greater Boston Offsite Construction Strategy (GB ROCS). To the left of the text is the Greater Boston ROCs logo over a blue background. It's an illustration of three building outlines with multi-colored shapes.
HUD PRO Housing Grant Offsite Construction Strategy

About

MAPC was awarded a $3M Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant to develop a regional strategy for expanding offsite construction to accelerate housing production while creating good jobs in the region. Working with partner municipalities, state housing partners, subject matter experts, and workforce/labor organizations, the grant will also fund the solicitation for a new manufacturing facility (or facilities) to effectively scale the use of offsite construction as a method of developing housing faster and more efficiently in Greater Boston. 

PRO Housing HUD Grant

The Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) a $3 million Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Affordable Housing (PRO Housing) grant to explore innovative ways to build and install modular housing in the Greater Boston region. With only 21 awardees nationwide, MAPC was one of five regional projects selected after a highly competitive process – more than 175 states, communities, and territories submitted applications. The PRO Housing Program provided a total of $85 million in grant funding to applicants that are actively taking steps and demonstrating progress in addressing barriers to housing production. 

MAPC's Grant Overview

The Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded MAPC a $3 million Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Affordable Housing (PRO Housing) grant to explore innovative ways to build and install modular housing in the Greater Boston region. With only 21 awardees nationwide, MAPC was one of five regional projects selected after a highly competitive process – more than 175 states, communities, and territories submitted applications.  

GB Rocs seeks to address three barriers to the production of new affordable housing units in the Greater Boston region: 1) high construction costs; 2) time to construct new housing; and 3) local opposition to new construction projects.

The regional strategy will build on research undertaken by Boston’s Housing Innovation Lab and be developed by efforts undertaken through various working groups with research focuses as outlined below and will aim to culminate in the preparation and issuance of Solicitation for Manufacturing Facility or Facilities.

To do so, we will engage with partner municipalities from the Metro Mayors Coalition (MMC) Housing Taskforce, regional and state public agencies, subject matter experts, and labor and workforce development partners throughout the process.  

The Greater Boston region imagines a future where all residents have safe and comfortable homes that they can afford in the communities that they prefer.

Greater Boston Regional Offsite Construction Strategy (GB ROCS) aims to advance towards this vision by the creation of a regional strategy to research and incentivize the use of innovative offsite construction methods to meet housing, climate, and economic development goals.

Partners

We received letters of support from the following partners and will expand these partnerships throughout implementation of the grant program. 

News

HUD Award Public Announcement and Check Presentation Press Event

July 2, 2024 | Cambridge City Hall

The event was emceed by MAPC Deputy Executive Director Lizzi Weyant, and speakers included HUD General Counsel Damon Smith, Congressman Jake Auchincloss, Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, John Sisson, Director of Community Development in Newton, and MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen.

An informative roundtable discussion was held after the public announcement that was attended by Representative Marjorie Decker, several Cambridge city councilors, representatives from all partner municipalities, local community development corporations, and our HUD Regional Administrator Juana Matias.

A room full of people standing and mingling with one another at the press conference.
MAPC Executive Director, Marc Draisen, is standing behind a dark podium speaking to a room of people. He is a wearing a dark colored suit, white shirt, and a dark colored tie, and he is wearing glasses and has white/gray short hair. He is standing in front of a wooden staircase.
A room full of people attending the press conference, all facing one way.
A room full of people attending the press conference.
Damon Smith, HUD General Counsel is standing behind a dark podium, speaking to a room of people. Behind him is a wooden staircase. He is wearing a dark suit, white shir, and a dark colored tie.
A man with short, black hair, wearing a dark colored suit, white shirt, and a dark colored tie, stands behind a dark colored podium speaking. He is in front of a wooden staircase.

A slide show of photos from the HUD Pro Housing Award press event.

Working Groups

To guide our research strategy and focus on various aspects of offsite construction technologies, we aim to examine both the barriers and opportunities associated with their implementation.

Specifically, we are interested in understanding how offsite construction can contribute to the creation of good jobs while producing affordable housing.

To facilitate this, we have identified the following working groups, each of which will lead to the development of research briefs and other deliverables, ultimately bringing together key stakeholders to collaborate and share insights. 

Construction of wooden modular homes being build inside of a large warehouse.
Photo Credit: AdobeStock_861131585

Resources

Arm of a construction crane has one side of a modular home hoisted high in the air. A tree and blue sky with some clouds is in the background.
Photo Credit: AdobeStock_124898420

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