Pepperell Affordable Housing Trust targets Pepperell Meadows expansion with $35,000 consulting fund

Affordable Housing Trust · Meeting of June 18, 2026

Pepperell Affordable Housing Trust plots consultant hire to advance Pepperell Meadows expansion and senior housing RFP. The trust, which has built its balance from zero to roughly $280,000 over three years, agreed at its June 18 meeting to direct $35,000 in previously appropriated town funds toward a consultant who would work with Pepperell Meadows general manager Justin Campbell on the feasibility of adding units to the 55-plus deed-restricted rental complex on River Road. A separate National Road senior housing project, greenlit by town meeting to develop a town parcel near the senior center, remains stalled after its original RFP drew only one bid, from a contractor requesting $1 million upfront.

Two members also committed to drafting a zoning position paper before the July 9 meeting that would embed affordable housing requirements into any Planning Board density or overlay rezoning, following a report that regional planners are divided on the usefulness of the cost-of-community-services planning tool for housing decisions. The trust noted that a PFAS soil remediation dispute, estimated at roughly $1 million, is delaying the Lorden project's groundbreaking on Layton Street, which, at 180 deed-restricted rental units, is expected to bring Pepperell to or past the state's 10 percent affordable housing safe-harbor threshold.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,526 words

Source: the Affordable Housing Trust meeting of June 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.