The news that Rockport's Gift House failed to attract a single buyer for the affordable housing property is no doubt a disappointment for town officials.
After all, they have already sunk close to $600,000 in taxpayers' money into the site and now will likely have to cut the price — ensuring, of course, an even greater loss.
Yet no one should even be remotely surprised that families looking for affordable housing, and who qualify under the strict income and family-related guidelines, simply cannot qualify for a $220,000 purchase.
In that vein, thanks to state and federal mandates, Rockport's pitch to recoup $220,000 through the sale price was seemingly set up to fail from the start. Indeed, Jill Onderdonk, the consultant hired by the town to carry out a lottery for the house, noted that the asking price was the maximum allowed under affordable housing guidelines, And beyond that, the income qualifications — combined with the need for near-perfect credit — create a financial equation that's nearly impossible to meet.
Look, the short-term solution to this is obvious. While Selectman Sandy Jacques seemed hesitant to cut the price by $25,000, the reality is the town should look at dropping the price to $195,000 or even lower to get the property off taxpayers' hands.
But there are a number of long-term lessons here that cannot be ignored. While the town may have had every good intention when it accepted then-resident James Angelini's donation of the house in 2001, the fact is, municipalities tend to have horrific success records when they wade into the real estate market or other traditional business venues.
Just talk to the folks in Gloucester today about their I-4, C-2 site.
