WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity continues to make progress on a planned four-home subdivision off Summer Street despite rising costs.

 

NBHFH project manager Keith Davis was back before the board of the town's Affordable Housing Trust in August to give an update on the project being developed on a parcel granted to the non-profit by the trustees.

 

"The majority of the site work is now done," Davis said. "The road base is completely in. We won't blacktop the road until the first foundation is done. It doesn't make any sense to drive a loaded cement truck over fresh blacktop.

 

"The detention basin is in. All the [stormwater] structures are in. I talked to [DPW Director] Craig Clough about coming in and looking at it, so he can verify all the structures are in. Because a lot of them get buried. That's the next step, to do that and sod it."

 

The construction package to build the road and stormwater infrastructure cost NBHFH $330,000. The Affordable Housing Trust kicked in $120,000 toward that, and the trustees have committed another $100,000 toward the construction cost of the first home to be built in what the non-profit has named the Meadowlands Subdivision.

 

Davis told the board at its Aug. 19 meeting that a couple of issues have popped up that have slowed the project and added cost.

 

One was the removal of an additional five trees on the 1.75-acre parcel.