Swampscott is one of 43 communities named a 2025 Housing Choice Community by Gov. Maura Healey’s administration, a designation that opens the door to state funding and technical support for housing growth and local planning. But Swampscott Housing Authority Vice Chair Charles Patsios cautioned that the designation may not tell the full story.
“The high cost of housing is one of the greatest challenges facing Massachusetts residents, and communities across the state are stepping up to meet it,” Healey said. “It’s great that these 43 cities and towns are doing the work to create more reasonably-priced homes, support their residents and lead by example. The Housing Choice designation is one of the many ways we partner with communities to help them build housing and lower costs for us all.”
To qualify for the designation, Swampscott had to meet benchmark criteria for housing production over the past five years. From 2020 to 2024, Swampscott added 305 affordable housing units, an increase of 4.87%.
“Every unit counts when it comes to solving our housing shortage, and these communities are proving what’s possible when we lead with urgency, creativity and data,” said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. “Whether it’s 150 homes or 15,000, every one of these communities is helping us build a stronger, more livable Massachusetts.”
While additional spaces have been created with newer developments in town, like the Westcott, Patsios called it a game of cat and mouse.
“The dog’s always chasing his tail,” Patsios said, adding that the addition of affordable housing is great but continues to be outweighed by other new units. “That adds to the burden of having to create more affordable housing units.”
The Swampscott Housing Authority has a total of 120 units of elderly, handicap and family housing at Duncan Terrace, Doherty Circle and Margaret Kelly. The issue, however, is that the Housing Authority now has to continue to patch and paint the properties just to maintain some semblance.
“I really love my town, but I know that we can do much better than we’ve done,” Patsios said.
The Housing Choice designation, however, does make Swampscott eligible for partner programs to support future housing development.
Other communities recognized with the designation include:
- Acton
- Amesbury
- Amherst
- Andover
- Arlington
- Barnstable
- Berlin
- Beverly
- Billerica
- Boston
- Boylston
- Bridgewater
- Cambridge
- Canton
- Chelsea
- Easton
- Everett
- Hopkinton
- Littleton
- Lowell
- Malden
- Medford
- Medway
- Methuen
- Nantucket
- Newburyport
- North Andover
- Northampton
- Orleans
- Pittsfield
- Plymouth
- Provincetown
- Quincy
- Salem
- Somerville
- Stoneham
- Taunton
- Truro
- Westford
- Weymouth
- Williamstown
- Worcester
“This program is all about partnering with communities to make housing more affordable for everyone,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “We’ve seen incredible momentum this year from communities that have shown commitment not only to building more housing but doing it thoughtfully with affordability front of mind.”
