RDI is assisting Clinical & Support Options, Inc. (CSO), a regional non-profit community behavioral and mental health agency, with transforming the existing emergency shelter at 60 Wells Street, Greenfield, and adding 36 studio apartments for chronically homeless individuals.
The project includes substantial renovation of the existing building into updated men’s and women’s shelter space, cafeteria, and housing resource center, as well as the addition of a new 3-story building to create a total of 36 housing units. Shelter guests and housing residents will have access to an array of 24/7 services specifically designed to meet the needs of formerly homeless residents.
CSO’s Friends of the Homeless (FOH) program operates as a combination of a shelter, a housing resource center, and supportive housing in Springfield. At 60 Wells Street, this successful model will be scaled to meet the needs of Greenfield and Franklin County. It is a low-threshold model with a “Housing First” approach. Services at 60 Wells Street include on-site meals and case management, as well as helping individuals connect to CSO or partner agencies who provide a wide array of services within blocks of the site.
Jones Whitsett Architects is a project architect, and Allegrone Construction Company is a General Contractor. RDI is assisting CSO with development and project management services, along with Valley Housing Consultants. The project has been supported by an array of funding sources, including Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), City of Greenfield, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and State sources awarded to the project from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in the 2022 Supportive Housing Funding round.
In April 2023, the Greenfield Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved the issuance of a Special Permit for the project. Construction began in December 2024, after the relocation of shelter services to a temporary location at One Arch Place. Construction is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
Greenfield Recorder article: CSO to lead $23M expansion of housing homeless services in Greenfield