U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Community Planning and Development

CITIZEN'S SUMMARY

The city of Attleboro, Massachusetts is located in the southwestern part of the State, near Rhode Island in Bristol County. This summary of Attleboro's Consolidated Plan briefly describes the needs identified in the Plan, long-term strategies for addressing those needs, and key projects that will be carried out in 1995.

Action Plan

To implement its Consolidated Plan in 1995, Attleboro expects to receive $606,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds, which will be spent mainly on housing rehabilitation. To continue the city's first-time homebuyers program, the city has $87,000 remaining from its FY94 State HOME award. In addition the city has $20,000 in program income available. The city also plans to spend $11,395,000 of its own revenue on infrastructure improvements, public safety, planning, and recreational and other public facilities.

Citizen Participation

The city sponsored four public hearings on the draft and final Consolidated Plan and offered a 30-day comment period on the final plan. Copies of the draft plan were available for review at the main and branch libraries, the city clerk's office, and Community Development for Attleboro (CDA).

Notices regarding the consolidated plan, including preparation and availability, were sent to those who regularly receive notice of CDBG funding availability. Notices of public hearings were published in the Sun Chronicle. These notices were also made available at the city's government center and public library. The summary of the city's proposed Consolidated Plan was published in April, 1995 in the Sun Chronicle.

MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.

COMMUNITY PROFILE

According to the 1990 census, the city's minority population accounts for 10.8 percent of the city's total population (African Americans 1.0 percent, Hispanics 2.9 percent, Asians 2.4 percent, other races/ethnic groups 4.5 percent). The minority population represents almost 8 percent of all rental households in the city, and the largest concentrations of minority households are in the central city area. There are about 3,110 elderly households in Attleboro, of which 62 percent are homeowners.

Attleboro has seen growth in the low-income population. The decrease in available money to support housing has led to disinvestment and bank foreclosures in some neighborhoods of the city. Attleboro is also experiencing growth in populations that require special needs, including the frail elderly, the homeless, victims of domestic violence, and persons with disabilities.

MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.

MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.

MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Conditions

Changes in the housing market and economic decline have contributed to the disinvestment in some of the city's housing stock, particularly rental housing. Attleboro's downtown business district is suffering some of the same woes of other communities. Small businesses, most of which were retail, have closed as a result of a new shopping mall and several mini-mall strips. Foot traffic downtown has decreased, hurting the remaining establishments.

Housing Needs

Housing problems (overcrowding, affordability, or inadequate conditions) affect about three-quarters of extremely low- and very low-income households (0-30 percent of median family income [MFI]) and over half of low-income households (31-50 percent MFI).

Overcrowding doesn't appear to be as significant a housing problem as is affordability, which will be discussed later. Only 4 percent of renters and over 1 percent of all owners live in overcrowded conditions. Overcrowding is much more significant among large household renters than any other group. Of all large households, one-third live in overcrowded units. Of the extremely low- and very low-income large households, half live in overcrowded conditions, and half of low-income households live in overcrowded units. In 1990, 2,317 housing units in Attleboro were substandard, of which 70 percent were rental units.

Housing Market Conditions

According to the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Databook, Attleboro had 15,629 year-round housing units, of which 91 percent were occupied. Of the occupied units, 8,699 were owner-occupied and 5,481 were renter-occupied. Of all rental units, 35 percent have zero or one bedroom, 44 percent have two bedrooms, and 21 percent have three or more bedrooms.

The physical condition of most of the city's housing is generally good, but 40 percent of the units were built prior to 1950. Renovation and rehabilitation of these units will continue to be important.

In a recent issue of the Sun Chronicle, one-bedroom apartments were renting for an average of $425, $525 for two-bedroom units, and $635 for a three-bedroom apartment. The city assessor's office reports that sale prices of single family homes are increasing. The average sale price of a single-family home in 1992 was $114,000 and in 1994 the average price was $121,000.

Affordable Housing Needs

The most common housing problem in Attleboro is affordability. According to the CHAS Databook, 36 percent of all renters pay greater than 30 percent of their income for housing, and almost 14 percent pay more than 50 percent.

Of all extremely low- and very low-income households, 60 percent of renters and 74 percent of homeowners pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing. For low-income households, this is true for 64 percent of renters and 53 percent of homeowners. Moderate-income households (51-80 percent of MFI) fare slightly better, with 51 percent of renters and 41 of homeowners experiencing this housing cost burden. Smaller rental families tend to be worse off than large rental families, except in terms of overcrowding. Among the 3,110 elderly households in Attleboro, 80 percent of homeowners pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing.

First-time homebuyers have a growing need for assistance. The rise in housing costs will no doubt affect the numbers of potential homebuyers. This is particularly true of first-time homebuyers many of whom are young families with limited incomes.

Homeless Needs

According to the 1990 census, there were 23 homeless persons in Attleboro, all of whom were being served by emergency shelters, and most of whom were victims of domestic violence. According to other sources, there is not a large unsheltered homeless population in the city. But existing shelter facilities are always filled to capacity. There is a need for more transitional housing and more opportunities for affordable permanent housing, especially for families with children.

The Family Resource Center is the only family shelter operating in Attleboro. It can accommodate seven families. Since it opened in 1985, it has served 491 families. The average stay of a family is 90 days. The Coalition for the Homeless provides emergency short-term housing for the single individuals at a local motel or rooming house. The New Hope Shelter serves battered women and their children; it provided housing for 196 women and their children last year. Environmentally Substance-Free Housing is available for single adults who are trying to remain substance free. One house has 12 rooms and another has 9 rooms.

Public and Assisted Housing Needs

The Attleboro Housing Authority (AHA) owns 431 units of public housing at 9 developments. This includes 319 elderly/disabled units (10 of which are handicapped units) and 112 family units. There are no vacancies in AHA's inventory. There are 833 persons on the AHA family housing waiting list. Of these 288 are Attleboro families and the remainder are from other communities. Based on the turnover rate, it could take anywhere from 5 to 7 years for units to become available. The waiting list for elderly units has 128 names. Everyone on this list should be provided housing within 3 to 6 months.

AHA administers 61 tenant-based assistance certificates from the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. It also administers 10 project-based State rental vouchers that serve as subsidies for clients under the care of the Department of Mental Health in privately-owned housing. AHA also administers 50 Section 8 regular certificates and 38 Section 8 mobile certificates.

Fair Housing

The city will conduct an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice within the jurisdiction and take appropriate actions to overcome the effects of any impediments identified through that analysis.

Lead-Based Paint

Based on the 1990 census, 6,337 housing units in Attleboro are likely to contain lead-based paint, of which 5,481 are rental units. Most of these units are in the more densely populated neighborhoods of the city where a majority of very low-, low- and moderate-income families live. According to the latest information from the Commonwealth's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, 4 out of 1,470 Attleboro children tested were found to have lead poisoning.

To prevent lead poisoning, the city encourages participants in the CDBG program to include lead-based paint abatement in the rehabilitation of their older properties if the presence of lead-based paint is identified. The city's Community Development office is also a Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency participating agency in the "Get the Lead Out" Program. This program includes owner-occupied single-family and owner-occupied two to four unit buildings. Attleboro participates in the new Expanded Lead Paint Abatement Loan Program, which offers low-interest loans for investor-owned multifamily units.

Community Development Needs

The city identified five general nonhousing needs: social services for various low-income populations, improving the accessibility of public buildings, stimulating economic development and opportunities for employment, infrastructure improvements, and rehabilitation of several public facilities.

Coordination

To obtain a wide range of viewpoints for the Consolidated Plan, CDA staff met with or contacted a number of agencies and city departments, including Bristol Elder Services, Versa Care; New Hope, Inc., the Department of Public Welfare, Attleboro Enterprises, Attleboro Association of Retarded Citizens, United Way INFO Line, Comprehensive Social Services, Attleboro Area Coalition for the Homeless, the city's Planning Department, and its Health and Veterans Services Departments.

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Vision for Change

The city acknowledges that the proposed strategies will not alleviate all housing conditions but will allow the city to continue relevant programs and generate new initiatives to address known problems. Over the next 5 years, the city wants to provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanded economic opportunities to as many residents as possible.

Housing Priorities

The following are long-term housing priorities for Attleboro:

Principal Reductions Grants to property owners for the rehabilitation of substandard housing. The owners must agree to lease the units in their properties to eligible low-income households at affordable rents after rehabilitation.
Financial resources for first-time homebuyers to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosed properties. As a secondary strategy, the city will provide homebuyer assistance and will work with financial institutions to devise programs to help households obtain mortgages to purchase the rehabilitated housing units.
Support appropriate nonprofit providers in seeking assistance from State and Federal programs for nonhomeless people with special needs.
Procuring of additional Section 8 vouchers.
Funding services for the homeless, including temporary shelter.

Nonhousing Community Development Priorities

Attleboro has identified the following priority nonhousing community development priorities:

Social services. Services to be funded include assistance to the homeless, training and outreach activities to the nonEnglish speaking population, and outreach to at-risk youth and their families.
Handicapped accessibility. Attleboro intends to make city-owned public buildings fully accessible according the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Economic development. The city's goal is to stimulate economic development by providing opportunities for employment, and by offering incentives to business and industry to locate or expand in Attleboro.
Infrastructure/public facilities. Planned infrastructure improvements include streets, sidewalks, traffic signals, bridges, sewer, water, and waste disposal systems. Public facilities to be improved include the fire station on the south side of the city, the Water Pollution Control Facility, and recreational facilities in the Read Street and Oakhill Avenue areas. Also, the city plans to open an additional branch library.

Antipoverty Strategy

To adequately reduce poverty in Attleboro, the city has determined that it must increase economic activity, increase the supply of affordable housing, and provide job training opportunities. Economic development and affordable housing have already been discussed, but the city plans to pursue a number of job training options.

The city will rely on the Job Training Partnership Act to provide funding for training programs, and the city will participate in the School to Work Act program and the Southeastern Massachusetts Manufacturing Partnership, which provides training funds to small and mid-sized manufacturing firms.

Housing and Community Development Resources

From the State, Attleboro receives Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program housing assistance and Commonwealth Chapter 90 funds for infrastructure improvements. The city will also use its own funds for infrastructure and public facilities projects. Federal funds are available from CDBG, HOME, and Section 8 tenant-based rental assistance.

Coordination of Strategic Plan

Community Development for Attleboro, Inc., (CDA), is the city's lead administrative agency for the Consolidated Plan and for CDBG funds. They are a nonprofit private corporation, with a board of directors appointed by the mayor and approved by the city's Municipal Council. They have experience as well acquiring, rehabilitating, and providing for-sale and rental housing to low- and moderate-income citizens. They will work closely with the Attleboro Housing Authority to implement the housing strategies.

MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.

MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.

MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.

MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s) depicted.

ONE-YEAR ACTION PLAN

Description of Key Projects

$7,389,000 for improvements to streets, sidewalks, signals, bridges, sewer and water lines, and solid waste disposal.
$274,775 for rehabilitation of 19 housing units; 70 percent for a target area and 30 percent to be used citywide.
$345,000 for rehabilitation of the South Attleboro fire station and new equipment.
$38,000 for the United Way INFO Line, which process requests for assistance with rent, food, utilities, tenant-landlord problems, legal services, eviction, etc. They are expected to serve 4,300 people.
$30,000 for the removal of architectural barriers and installation of a chair lift for the Attleboro Area Center for Training, which is home to many public and nonprofit social service agencies.
$30,000 for facade improvements for three downtown businesses.
$2,720,000 for renovation of the Reverend Gordon N. Larson Senior Center and Water Pollution Control facility improvements.
$27,200 for The Greater Attleboro Community Day Care Service to provide day care scholarships on a sliding fee scale for low/moderate income Attleboro parents.
$7,500 for Comprehensive Social Services of Attleboro, Inc. to provide partial funding for the agency's program and services, which include ESL and GED programs, interpreter services, and other assistance.
$7,000 for Attleboro Teen and Family Outreach Program to provide partial funding for education and recreational opportunities for Attleboro's culturally diverse families.

To comment on Attleboro's Consolidated Plan, please contact William Spaner, Community Development Director, or Sheila Tondreau at 508-226-8116. The fax number is 508-226-8175.

Return to Massachusetts' Consolidated Plans.