Mid-Cape Church Homes d/b/a Pine Oaks Village Homes is comprised of an entirely volunteer board. While there is paid onsite management, not a single member of the board who makes the decisions are paid. The members of the board are full-time residents or business owners in Harwich who are making decisions with what’s best for our community in mind.
When fully built, POVH4 will consist of 242 units of mixed income family rental housing on 30.5 acres of land in North Harwich. We will build our new community over five phases approximately two years apart (depending on financing). The first phase will consist of 50 rental units in three buildings: two townhouse buildings containing a total of 12 and 16 units and a three-story corridor building, the”Lodge” building, containing 36 units. Four future phases will add 192 additional mixed income rental units.
Pine Oaks Village Harwich will include 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units, offering opportunities for individuals and families. Handicap accessible units will be included.
The long-term vision is by adding affordable homes to the Harwich area, we can keep young families in our communities, allow seniors to age in place, grow and retain a workforce needed to sustain our businesses, and benefit our community as a whole for generations to come. Occupancy will be restricted to households with incomes below certain levels, tied to set percentages of the Area Median Income (AMI) as determined by the US Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) each year. Forty-one (41) units in Phase 1 and 193 in the entire development, will be affordable at up to 80% AMI and the remainder will be up to 110% of AMI. None of the 242 units will be at market rate. The target rents will be set at 30% of the restricted income level for each apartment as per state housing agency requirements. Please refer to the HUD charts on AMI and rental rates. The rental rates in the 110% AMI category seem very high. HUD sets the maximum rental for each AMI category. However, the local average market rate for the size of the apartment may be lower. Pine Oaks will adjust the rent to the average market rate as necessary.
Many people cannot afford the high cost to rent or buy on the Cape. As a result, we’re losing essential workers and residents who have grown up and lived here most of their lives. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires 10% Affordable Housing in each town. By this measure, Harwich should be at 658 units (10%) but is currently at 328 units or 4.98%. Pine Oaks Village Homes wants to help the Town of Harwich meet their housing goal, and in doing so help ensure that off-Cape 40B developers don’t take advantage of this opportunity to profit at the expense of sustainable, community-oriented growth.
There will be an initial local preference for Harwich residents (in each phase), which will cover up to 70% (subject to state approval) other units will be open to people regardless of where they live.
The Pine Oaks Village Homes board is entirely volunteer, and members are full-time Harwich residents or are business owners in the Town of Harwich.
As with all three existing Pine Oaks Village locations, there will be on-site management by a professional property management company. This plan includes ongoing building maintenance, grounds care, 24-hour emergency service, and management to uphold the sense of pride in the community and safety for all residents.
Each unit will be assigned at least one space and two for the townhouses. There will be additional street parking (on the proposed POV 4 streets, not Queen Anne Road or Main Street) for visitors. We have had the highly-respected firm of Vanasse and Associates, Transportation Engineers and Planners, conduct a traffic study to look at both Queen Anne Road and Main Street. The traffic study predicted that between 155 and 183 vehicles to Queen Anne Road during the weekday peak hours and concluded that the roadway affords sufficient capacity to accommodate the predicted traffic volume increases. The final determination of the usage of the two possible entrances will be will be made by the Town of Harwich.
We have already had discussions with Cape Cod Regional Transportation Authority, and they have expressed an interest in a route in the area at some point during the 5 phases. In the meantime, the location will be served by our demand-response services, including DART and SmartDART, which offer flexible and affordable transportation options for residents.Queen Anne Road.
The number of school age children is not a factor under Chapter 40B; that said, based on various studies the number of additional school age children is expected to be approximately 69.
We are “Pine Oaks” after all. We did an environmental study of the land early in the process. The project will retain approximately 41% of undisturbed natural areas. We have developed stormwater and construction erosion control plans for the construction process to protect water quality and natural habitats. The site has not been identified as supporting rare species habitat. Our commitment to the residents is that we will make as little disruption to this property as possible and create a community with an abundance of usable green space, trees, and natural surroundings. We intend to achieve “Passive House” standards by design. Buildings will be super-insulated, we will not use carbon-based fuels (oil or gas), and heating and cooling will be by high-efficiency electric heat pumps.
Phase 1 of the community will start with an Innovative Alternative Title 5 septic system. In Phase 2, POVH4 will build a wastewater treatment plant will discharge treated effluent to soil and will meet or exceed MassDEP treatment standards for all regulated constituents.
We will have a Community Center with rooms that can be used for family gatherings, green space for picnics and activities, and walking paths. The Community Center will have an onsite fitness center. We will also have a full-time Resident Services Coordinator who will coordinate village activities and can make referrals to available resources and agencies.
Land has been earmarked for a sub-contracted daycare and pre-school.
None of the 242 units will be at market rate. The target rents will be set at 30% of the restricted income level for each apartment as per state housing agency requirements.
We anticipate that construction on Phase 1 will begin in 2026, with occupancy expected by the end of 2027. The remaining 4 phases will follow as they are funded.
