The grant would benefit the communities of Ware, Warren and Hardwick.
WARE — The town plans to apply for a $1 million community development block grant that would pave the way for housing rehabilitation initiatives and expanded social services in the Hampshire County town and two Worcester County communities, according to Karen M. Cullen, Ware's director of planning and community development.
"The lion's share, or about half, will go toward housing rehabilitation," she said Wednesday.
The Worcester communities that would benefit from the federal grant administered by the state are Hardwick and Warren, where reuse studies would be conducted for abandoned and dilapidated buildings. Depending on the outcome of the studies, properties might be razed or rehabilitated, Cullen said.
The remaining half-million would benefit family support services and adult learning programs in all three towns, and domestic violence programs in Ware and Warren.
We put a lot of thought about how much money is going to be put into the various services," she said.
Now comes the hard part: waiting to see if the communities will receive the highly competitive grant. The deadline for submitting an application for the Ware River Valley Regional FY2013 Community Development Block Grant is Feb. 15, and Ware, the lead applicant on the grant, could learn if it wins the funding by July or August.
"The competition is crazy. The amount of (available grant) money is tight," Cullen said, adding that she's "fairly optimistic" about the chance of success. "Ware has been submitting and getting these grants for about three decades now," she said.
Cullen said the community block grant program is aimed at helping low- to moderate-income residents, and many of the buildings that would be rehabilitated are in neglected areas. "Most of these properties are probably owned by absentee landlords," she said.
Christopher J. Dunphy, principal planner and manager of the Springfield-based Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, is the consultant preparing the grant application for the communities.
