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Housing
Planning for housing is not just about collecting statistics and making recommendations. At its core, it’s about people. The high cost of housing is not an abstract problem—it affects individuals and families in deeply personal ways. Each “housing unit” in our region is, ultimately, a home. Homes shape our health, our quality of life, and our ability to put down roots in the communities we love. For many, a home is the largest investment an individual or family will make.
NMCOG provides local assistance such as housing planning.
NMCOG's work recognizes the crucial importance of ensuring that everyone in Greater Lowell has access to an appropriate, achievable home—and that municipalities, agencies, and private businesses and nonprofit organizations must work together for that vision to become a reality in a responsible, regionally coordinated way.
NMCOG provides planning assistance at both a local level and a regional level. Examples of local work include creating municipal housing plans compliant with Chapter 40B, assisting with predevelopment activities such as feasibility studies and requests for proposals, and providing GIS mapping services. Regional work includes developing and maintaining At Home in Greater Lowell, the regional housing strategy, facilitating annual Housing Summits to convene stakeholders across the region, operating a Regional Housing Services Office which provides affordable housing administrative services to multiple municipalities on a cost-effective basis, and maintaining region-wide data.
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Current Projects
In-progress plans and projects related to housing.
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At Home in Greater Lowell
At Home in Greater Lowell is a ten-year regional housing strategy being developed by the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments (NMCOG) in collaboration with its nine member municipalities.
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Housing Plans & Studies
In an effort to address the needs of individual communities and develop strategies for affordable housing implementation, NMCOG assists its communities in developing Housing Production Plans.
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Housing Summits
Since 2023, NMCOG has facilitated annual convenings of elected and appointed officials, housing professionals from finance to construction, municipal and nonprofit staff, and community members to discuss housing issues.
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Northern Middlesex Regional Housing Services Office
The NMRHSO is designed to help fill the gap between our communities investments in affordable housing and the limited staff capacity to provide oversight to the developed units over time. The NMRHSO provides efficient, cost-effective support and services on regional scale to build municipal capacity and assist with managing, producing, and preserving affordable housing. Additionally, the regional collaboration provides a forum for municipalities to share ideas, approaches, strategies, and initiatives to common topics and issues.
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Technical Assistance
NMCOG provides technical assistance at the request of our member communities to undertake local planning activities that advance the goals of NMCOG's regional planning initiatives. NMCOG technical assistance matches technical planning help and expertise with projects in communities who need it.