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Despite rainy skies, local and state officials were joined by residents and housing advocates to welcome Gov. Maura Healey during a stop in Winchester Thursday morning.
Healey, along with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Mass. Secretary of Housing Ed Augustus Jr., arrived on the town common shortly after 10 o’clock on July 31 to announce affordable housing tax credits and subsidies for projects that had been approved throughout the state, including Waterfield Commons in Winchester.
Healey started by thanking select boards across the state, planners and those who worked with local governments to aid in building affordable housing in Massachusetts.
“I know that building housing is the most important thing right now in the state,” she said. “We need to build housing and we need to lower costs. And I’ll have you know that over the last two and a half years, we have been working so hard with all of you to deliver on that and today is another example. So the message is to Massachusetts: we are building housing. And we’re going to keep building housing. And we’re going to lower costs when we do that.”
Healey, who lives in Arlington, said she often drives through Winchester, calling the town “a great community.”
“This town represents so many things that make our state so special and why we’re ranked number one in the country for education, innovation, health care; ranked the best state to raise a baby, to have a family,” she said. “We’re best for safety, safe drinking water and so much more. So much good stuff going on in Massachusetts.”
She went on to praise legislators, such as Sen. Jason Lewis, Rep. Michael Day and many others in the Legislature who continue to work with her administration towards the goal of affordable and adequate housing for residents of the state.
To that end, the governor announced the state was giving out $200 million across 21 sites to create nearly 1,300 new homes. Communities such as Winchester, Malden, Topsfield, Ayer, Cambridge, New Bedford and Hadley, among others, were on the list.
The credits were made possible through the Affordable Homes Act, which Healey signed in August 2024, and what she called “a historic tax cut” passed several years ago.
According to Mass.gov, the Affordable Homes Act authorizes $5.16 billion in spending over the next five years along with nearly 50 policy initiatives to counter rising housing costs caused by high demand and limited supply.
“In total, through these programs, we’ve created 6,000 new affordable rental units. That’s in addition to other housing that we’ve been building and bragging about,” Healey said. “But just know that through that one program alone, know that we’re over 6,000 units, bringing online…..6,000 units that are going to transform lives of people and families around this state.”
Missed the ceremony? Check out this video, courtesy of WinCAM.
Waterfield Commons
Healey said she was excited by Waterfield Commons, which she called “cool.”
“This is a really cool project,” she told the gathered crowd. “It’s beautifully designed. It’ll be beautifully built. It’s right next to a commuter rail. We talk about transit-oriented development. Makes a lot of sense, right? You wake up next to the place where you can get on a train and get into work. It’s also in a town center, which is walkable and accessible.”
Healey went on to say Waterfield Commons is the type of development the state is “excited about and pleased to support.”
Select Board Chair Michelle Prior, who introduced Healey, said the Waterfield project has been years in the making.
“The Waterfield Commons project took many years of hard work, rounds of negotiations with the developer and the MBTA, two Town Meeting votes, and a townwide referendum to get us to where we are today,” Prior said.
She added, “Winchester’s commitment to affordable and transit-oriented housing spans more than a decade.”
Prior said the town’s first Housing Production Plan “was the catalyst for creating the Affordable Housing Trust in 2019, passing an ADU [Accessory Dwelling Unit] bylaw in 2022, and pursuing adoption of the Community Preservation Act in 2024.”
“We are proud of many town led partnerships like Waterfield Commons, we will have a 40B development built at the corner of Washington and Swanton streets and a more modest project currently underway on Cross Street wherein the town worked with the owner/developer to include additional affordable units its design,” Prior said. “When finished, these projects will create dozens of units of affordable housing available to renters from a wide range of income levels.”
A look at conceptual drawings for the new Waterfield Commons project in downtown Winchester. WINCHESTER NEWS STAFF PHOTOS/NELL ESCOBAR COAKLEY
Prior said Waterfield Commons is the town’s first transit-oriented development, but added the project won’t be the last. She pointed out to the last spring’s Town Meeting, where the town approved the MBTA 3A Overlay District, and the fall Town Meeting, where the new North Main Street Mixed-use District (MSMD) was also approved.
Winchester was one of 177 communities required under the MBTA Communities Act, passed in January 2021, to create zoning that allows multi-family housing by-right, especially near public transportation.
As of July 15, 2025, Mass.gov states 140 communities have submitted or adopted zoning to comply with the law. Only 105 have been determined to be fully or conditionally compliant with the law.
Winchester received word from the state earlier this year that the town is in full compliance.
Prior said the town is already seeing applications to develop in the new MSMD district.
State and local officials gathered on the town common July 31 to greet Gov. Maura Healey, who announced nearly $200 million in affordable housing tax cuts and subsidies for 21 sites across the state. WINCHESTER NEWS STAFF PHOTOS/NELL ESCOBAR COAKLEY & ERIC HAN
In June, the Planning Board started reviewing a proposal for a possible residential building at 972 Main St., which is currently the site of a commercial/industrial building that once housed a Midas Muffler and is now used for parking and storage by a landscaper.
Lewis and Day, along with Rep. Michelle Ciccolo and Sen. Pat Jehlen, were also on hand Thursday to support the Healey administration’s affordable housing initiatives across Massachusetts. Both Lewis and Day spoke about their excitement over not only Waterfield Commons, but the Legislature’s combined efforts in making projects happen.
“There is a dire need for affordable options for residents in communities in Greater Boston and across the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Lewis said. “This $182 million, in a combination of tax credits and subsidies will create well over 1,000 new affordable housing units. This is the direct result of the leadership of Gov. Healey working in close partnership with the state Legislature.”
Lewis said he was “super excited” to see the Waterfield Commons come to fruition in Winchester, with its 56 new units, 70% of which have been earmarked as affordable housing.
Lewis praised town officials as well as Causeway Development and Civico Development for sticking with the project.
“Unfortunately, this project took way too long, but we’ve got to the place where we need to be,” Lewis said. “Again, thank you to the funding from the state. This will be a wonderful addition of new housing units in a perfect location, which will be to the betterment of the community of Winchester.”
Day added Waterfield Commons wasn’t exactly “an A to B project.” However, he also praised town officials, the state and the developers in bringing the overall project to fruition.
“We’re building smart so that people can get to work and leave the congestion and their cars behind, especially since their right next to the commuter rail,” Day said, before the day’s events started. “And I fully support transit-oriented housing.”
