Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Provincetown are held in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you want to attend on the calendar at provincetown-ma.gov for a link to an agenda and details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, June 13
- Water and Sewer Board, 2 p.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Planning Board, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 18
- Groundbreaking ceremony for VFW housing project, 1 p.m., 3 Jerome Smith Road
- Community Housing Council, 5:30 p.m.
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 20
- First Time Homebuyer Workshop, 5:30 p.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m.
Conversation Starters
Groundbreaking at VFW
The groundbreaking ceremony for the 65-unit affordable housing complex at the town-owned former VFW property on 3 Jerome Smith Road — which has been named “Province Post” by its builder and operator, The Community Builders, Inc. — is at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18.
The Province Post apartments, which were then projected to cost $37.8 million, received a $29 million award from the state in May 2023. The cost has since escalated to $43.9 million, according to project manager Tiffany Leung, but the nonprofit developer has been able to defray some of those costs with an ARPA grant from Barnstable County, an award from the Cape Light Compact, and additional funding from the state, Leung told the Independent in March.
The town contributed $3 million plus another $500,000 in Community Preservation Act money at town meeting in 2023. The town had also spent $900,000 to buy the parcel from the VFW Post in 2013 and $68,000 to demolish the old building in 2021.
That brings the town’s contribution to $68,738 per apartment. At $43.9 million, the total development cost will be around $675,000 per apartment.
According to a press release from The Community Builders, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Ed Augustus will both be at the ceremony.
Homebuyer Workshop
Attendance at a four-part first-time homebuyer workshop is a requirement for participation in the town’s recently expanded down payment assistance program, which can offer qualified applicants up to 10 percent of a property’s purchase price or $30,000, whichever is less.
The Community Development Partnership is holding a workshop series that starts June 20 at the Veterans Memorial Community Center and continues through June 27.
The cost of the workshop is $50 per person or $75 per household, although town residents may be eligible for reimbursement of course fees, according to the town’s website. —Paul Benson
