The Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce is celebrating the success of the state’s Housing Development Incentive Program which supports market-rate multi-family housing in Haverhill and 25 other Gateway Cities. It hailed this year’s state tax package as helping eliminate the backlog of housing projects awaiting tax relief. In a statement Wednesday, the Chamber said the money is especially helpful in Gateway Cities, where despite the fact that the costs to build housing are just as high as in the Boston area, rents are lower. “Market rate apartments are needed to attract employers, and the larger supply also relieves pressure on the local supply and rental pricing,” the statement said. The Greater Haverhill Chamber, as a member of a statewide coalition of business and community groups, noted Haverhill was the first city in the state to establish a zones where tax incentives are available produce much-needed market rate housing.
