People who have lived in Acton a long time remember when Kennedy and Company Landscaping and Garden Center raised plants in greenhouses and sold trees and garden plants at their property on Main St. near Route 2 in Acton. Kennedy relocated to Harvard, MA in April 2023, as announced on their Facebook page. Some might remember when the adjacent lot was being considered for a 20,000-square-foot day care center and the Town was involved in litigation with that applicant, Walker Realty. As reported in local news, the Town ultimately purchased the 4.57 acre Walker property in 2015 after a special August 4 Town Meeting voted to pay $1.8 million for it. The Town also purchased property from Kennedy.
Nicknames die hard, and for years people have referred to parts of the land as the “Walker” property or the “Kennedy” property. Those up to date on the news know that the Town kept the southern section of the land and the Acton Dog Park Committee is close to developing that part. The Acton Housing Authority (AHA) is building 41 units of affordable housing on the northern end for income-eligible people older than 62 or who have a disability. The development will be called “McManus Manor”, named after longtime housing advocate and Executive Director of the Acton Housing Authority Betty McManus, who died in 2017. A park is planned for the land between the dog park and McManus Manor.
The Acton Housing Authority presently has two senior developments with 91 units in total at Windsor Green and McCarthy Village. These developments, like much suburban senior housing, were built without elevators. “More than half of our units are on the second and third floors,” said Development Director and former AHA Director Kelley Cronin. “Every time a first floor unit becomes vacant, we are transferring from the second floor to the first due to reasonable accommodation and accessibility issues.” By contrast, McManus Manor will be elevator-equipped. The Acton Housing Authority has over 3078 households on our senior waiting list, of which 186 are are Acton residents. We average 10 unit turnovers per year.
Cronin said the Town established a planning committee to recommend what should be developed on the now Town-owned land at 348-364 Main St. She detailed the history of the project. “After a request-for-interest process, the community recommended the AHA senior development proposal which was unanimously supported by the neighbors. The Select Board unanimously approved the senior development and presented the proposal at Town Meeting in 2019 where 91% of voters supported the AHA senior/disabled housing proposal. After a lengthy community design process, the Town issued a comprehensive permit in December 2021. The project was approved by the state in their one-stop application process in December 2022. The Town applied for and was awarded a sewer connection project to Main St., which was bid in early 2024. McManus Manor went out to bid soon after that and closed on financing last winter. Construction began in March of 2025, and the project should be completed by the end of June 2026, with units beginning occupancy this summer.”
Chair of the Acton Housing Authority Board of Directors Nancy Kolb said, “We are all so excited about this great project. The Board spent years looking for land to build and finally found the perfect setting.”
Cronin said McManus Manor is being designed to meet passive house certification (Phius standards) for multifamily housing. The project will exceed the Massachusetts stretch energy code requirements by incorporating fossil fuel-free, all electric equipment for heating, cooling, and appliances (Energy Star certified). Additionally, there will be solar panels on the roof and EV chargers. The building envelope will have continuous insulation with triple-pane windows. Landscaping will use native plantings, along with a series of bioretention areas, to improve the environmental conditions onsite and provide residents and neighbors with a beautiful setting.
While McManus Manor is 100% affordable housing, eligibility for renting the apartments depends on applicant’s income, explained in the table above and summarized in the application: “There are twenty-five (25) units at 60% Area Median Income (AMI) or below. There are five (5) units for income eligible households earning at or below 50% AMI as defined by HUD and eleven (11 for income-eligible households earning at or below 30% AMI. Eight (8) will have project-based Section 8 vouchers and residents in these units will only pay 30% of their income in rent. There are also eight (8) Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) vouchers in the building and residents in these units will also only pay 30% of their income in rent. There are four (4) units that are ADA accessible for mobility and two (2) units designed for sensory accessibility, for people with vision and hearing disabilities. All units have been designed to be universally accessible, and the building will follow Passive House requirements for sustainable design.”
As announced in the Acton Exchange January 10 Bulletin Board, applications for the lottery for income-eligible applicants became available starting Jan. 5, 2026. Completed applications must be received or postmarked by April 5, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. in care of the Chelmsford Housing Authority (CHA), 10 Wilson ST, Chelmsford, MA 01824 (M-F 8:30-4:30). Phone: 978-256-7425, ext.10 or lottery@chelmsfordha.com.
The application packet contains specific information on eligibility requirements, selection priority categories, and application process for 41 affordable apartments being offered for rent through a lottery process. Potential applicants are encouraged to read the information packet and submit an application if they think they meet the eligibility requirements. Please note that the lottery is the first step in the application process; should you be selected as a winner in the lottery, you are not automatically assured a unit, as verification of financial claims made in the application must take place.
Public information sessions will be held Jan. 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the Acton Memorial Library and Feb. 12 at 11:00 a.m. at the Acton Senior Center. Attendance at an Informational Session is not required for participation in the lottery.
Applications are available in person at the following accessible locations:
- Chelmsford Housing Authority, 10 Wilson Street, Chelmsford, MA, 01824 (Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).
- Acton Housing Authority, 68 Windsor Ave, Acton, MA 01720 (Mon – Thur 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Fri 8:00 a.m. – 12n).
- Acton Town Hall, 472 Main St, Acton, MA 01720 (Mon, Wed – Thurs 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Tues 8:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., Fri 8:00 a.m. – 12n).
- Acton Memorial Library 486 Main St, Acton, MA 01720 (Mon, Wed – Thurs 9:00 am – 8:00 p.m., Tues 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Fri 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Sat 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sun 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.).
- West Acton Citizens’ Library 21 Windsor Ave, Acton, MA 01720 (Mon 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Tues – Fri 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.).
- Acton Senior Center 30 Sudbury Rd, Acton, MA 01720 (Mon, Wed-Thur 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Tues 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Fri 8:00 a.m. – 12n).
They are available by mail by calling (978) 256-7425 x10/TTY/TDD (800) 439-2370, via email at lottery@chelmsfordha.com, and at our website: www.chelmsfordha.com.
Persons with disabilities who may require a reasonable accommodation in obtaining or completing an application may call the CHA to make special arrangements.
The Acton Exchange asked Acton Housing Authority Director Melissa Bible why Chelmsford is involved in the lottery process. “The application and lottery process, in addition to the subsidy itself, are very different than our current units,” she explained. “A third-party process also allows us an arms-length distance from any of our current tenants and clients that may be applying. By using another government agency, like Chelmsford, that has done the lottery several times before, we do not have to go out to bid for cost, and they have the knowledge base for the income tax credit applications and eligibility that we have not yet had experience with. Once the building is leased, the property converts to a standard application process and we will maintain it ‘in house’ as apartments become available in the future.”
Franny Osman is Editor-in-Chief and occasional writer for the Acton Exchange.
