How will the $4 billion bond bill spur housing starts in Central and Western Mass.?

It’s not news: Massachusetts has run out of homes that its residents can afford to live in.

Even Gov. Maura T. Healey acknowledges the housing crisis, locking people out of apartment rentals in cities, starter-home purchases in suburbs and places where seniors can afford to age in place throughout the state.

Healey has addressed the crisis with the filing of a $4 billion bond bill, the Affordable Homes Act, that would stimulate its production across the state.

A UMass Amherst analysis by the Donahue Institute’s Economic and Public Policy Research Group of the bond bill found that the investment would unlock $15.1 billion in governmental and private spending on the local, state and federal levels in four areas: Construction, professional services, finance and maintenance over five years.

On its own, the bill is expected to spur the creation of more than 40,000 new dwelling units, with 22,000 reserved for low-income residents and 12,000 for people earning a middle-range salary — $3.4 billion total invested in different programs.

Maintenance issues in public housing

The bill would funnel funds to local housing authorities for addressing deferred maintenance issues, decarbonization and rehabilitation to increase accessibility. There’s funding allocated to identify and redevelop unused public land and structures, such as public buildings, office complexes and retail locations that have fallen vacant.

Passage of the bill by the Legislature would necessitate 28 policy changes and three executive orders, and alter two tax credits aimed at developers to reward housing production.

Certain legislators in Central and Western Massachusetts are pumping the brakes, suggesting that the bill needs tweaking to ensure all communities benefit equitably from the proposals and funding included in the measure.

“This is an excellent and bold bill,” said Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, one of 16 legislators to sign on to a letter sent to the joint committees on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets along with Housing to remind them to keep the needs of Central and Western Massachusetts in mind when hearing the proposed legislation.

“…(Y)ou know the needs, assets and opportunities differ from those in the eastern part of the state,” the letter reads in part.

An analysis of the bond bill, undertaken by the Western Massachusetts Housing Coalition with the Western…