On May 6, an assemblage of local and state officials crowded into a large white tent (rain-proof, thank goodness) to celebrate the groundbreaking of a housing development named after the late Betty McManus, a longtime director of the Acton Housing Authority.
The complex, expected to open in June, 2026, will house seniors and people with disabilities, about seventy-percent of them Acton residents. Kelley Cronin, Development Coordinator and former Executive Director of the Acton Housing Authority, said that there is a fifteen-year wait for housing, due to more than two thousand people on the list, and an average turnover of only about seven per year.
The project, on the site of the former Kennedy’s Landscaping Company on Main St, was made possible through a combination of tax credits, and state, local, and private funding, including from Red Stone Equity, which will co-own the property for the first fifteen years. The 41-unit complex will also help to meet Acton’s energy-saving goals. Among the speakers was Naomi Mathis, McManus’ daughter, who thanked everyone who brought the complex to fruition. Attending with her three daughters, she gave an emotional tribute to her mother, who liked to say, “Live intentionally with purpose, and make the most of the time we have.”
Nancy Kolb, chair of the Acton Housing Authority, introduced the day’s other speakers: Secretary Ed Augustus, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; Clark Ziegler, executive director of the Mass. Housing Partnership; Nick Keefe, senior vice president of Red Stone Equity; State Senator Jamie Eldridge; State Representative Dan Sena; and Fran Arsenault, chair, Acton Select Board.
James Conboy writes frequently for the Acton Exchange, mostly about sports, but he pinch-hits to cover a wide range of other community events.