FAQs

  • Just A Start focuses on affordable family housing. The proposed mix of apartments includes 12 studios, 3 one-bedrooms, 14 two-bedrooms, and 13 three-bedrooms.

  • Yes. Located minutes from the Union Square train station, 24 Webster Ave is a transit-oriented building design. We are working to maximize parking within site constraints and the proposed plans include approximately 4 parking spaces.

  • 24 Webster Ave. is required to follow U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines. Affordable housing typically includes apartments that limit household income to at or below 30%, 50%, 60%, and 80% of the area median income (AMI). For 2022, the adjusted gross income limits in Somerville for a family of four range from $42,050 to $111,850.

    The proposed design for 24 Webster Ave. will include units set aside for households making between 30% and 80% of the area median income (AMI).

  • The project will take several years to complete. Just A Start began preliminary design of the building in Fall 2022 and obtained funding awards from Fall 2022 through early 2024.

    Once the design is complete and financing is completely in place, we anticipate that construction will take about 18 months. We hope to break ground in Spring 2025, with completion in Fall 2026.

  • Passive House is an ultra energy efficient design, which allows tenants to save on their utility bills and will help the city reach net-zero. Just A Start has experience in PHIUS and our Squirrelwood project recently won the best Passive House renovation project in the New England Engineering News Record.

    According to phius.org, “Passive building puts passive house principles into practice to create safe, resilient, comfortable and - most importantly - energy efficient structures.” The five principles aim to:

    Employ continuous insulation throughout its entire envelope without any thermal bridging.

    The building envelope is extremely airtight, preventing infiltration of outside air and loss of conditioned air.

    Employ high-performance windows (double or triple-paned windows depending on climate and building type) and doors - solar gain is managed to exploit the sun’s energy for heating purposes in the heating season and to minimize overheating during the cooling season.

    Use some form of balanced heat - and moisture-recovery ventilation.

    Use a minimal conditioning system.

  • We have hosted 3 virtual community meetings, and plan to have at least one more before construction begins. Please sign up for email updates to be notified when the date is set and how you can participate.

    We welcome comments and questions on our community feedback page, or you can email us directly at 24Webster@justastart.org.