Orleans Housing Trust Unanimously Awards Old Tote Road Project to Housing Assistance Corporation

ORLEANS — January 20, 2026 — Orleans Housing Trust votes to award 22 Old Tote Road to Housing Assistance Corporation and presses state on six-month permitting delay. The trust voted unanimously Tuesday to issue a notice of award to Housing Assistance Corporation for the recently acquired four-unit Old Tote Road property, which the trust purchased outright after receiving only a single bid in response to its request for proposals. Under the proposal, Housing Assistance Corporation would acquire the property for $1, invest an additional $474,000 in improvements financed through a conventional loan, and rent all four units year-round at approximately $2,000 per month — near the 80-to-100 percent area median income range — with two units carrying deed restrictions. The board also voted unanimously to send a letter to the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities demanding answers on why a project eligibility letter for the 78-unit Governor Prince development at 6676 Route 6A has been pending for roughly six months, with one member calculating the delay is costing the town approximately $25,000 in carrying costs. The trust received $300,000 from the Community Preservation Committee against a $700,000 request, with staff noting that Orleans's rental assistance maximum of $350 per month ranks at the low end of eight comparable lower and outer Cape programs.