Live, Work, Thrive

A Note from Jay Coburn, CDP President & CEO

The CDP’s 32nd Annual Meeting will take place on April 25th, starting at 4:30 p.m. at Wellfleet Preservation Hall. We are very excited to welcome Massachusetts Housing & Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus as our keynote speaker and to recognize the great accomplishments of community members and our staff.

I have had the privilege of meeting with Secretary Augustus on several occasions as a Board Member of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC). At his first meeting with the MACDC Board, Secretary Augustus told us of his years working with CDCs as City Manager in Worcester. He pledged to meet each quarter, seeing us as key partners in solving the Commonwealth’s housing affordability crisis. The Housing Bond Bill proposed by Governor Healey and crafted by Secretary Augustus and his team proposes sweeping reforms and unprecedented investments in affordable housing. In my opinion, the Administration has never been so committed to giving our communities the tools and resources to ensure that the people living and working on the Lower and Outer Cape can afford to do so.

Our Annual Meeting will also celebrate our accomplishments and recognize the leadership of former Provincetown Housing Specialist Michelle Jarusiewicz and the entrepreneurship of Kate Escher-Jacob and Lizzy Escher of ARTichoke. By all measures, the Town of Provincetown has led the region in addressing its housing crisis. Michelle, the region’s first municipal housing coordinator, has been vital to that success. Michelle will receive this year’s Gwen Pelletier Award for Excellence in Community Service for years of service and an example of what can be accomplished when a community supports the expertise and resourcefulness of a town staff person to progress on housing.

Brewster natives and sisters Kate Escher-Jacob and Lizzy Escher founded ARTichoke in 2011, first as a mobile store, and then a brick and mortar location in Eastham in 2011. They have delighted their customers with creative, casual designs that reflect the spirit of Cape Cod. They design their clothing collection from their Eastham boutique and have developed a thriving retail and wholesale business. They represent the next generation of Lower Cape entrepreneurs who are grounded in the creative spirit of this special place and dogged in their pursuit of a successful life here. We recognize their success with the Norm Edinberg Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship.

Please join us on April 25th. Help us celebrate our work to build a stronger and more diverse year-round community of people who can afford to live, work, and thrive on the Lower and Outer Cape.

PLEASE JOIN US

For our 32nd Annual Meeting. You'll hear our plans for the year ahead, elect new Board leadership, and celebrate recipients of our annual awards: the Gwen Pelletier Award for Excellence in Community Service, the Norm Edinburg Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship, and the CDP Employee of the Year.

We are excited about our keynote speaker, Edward M. Augustus, the Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities in Massachusetts. He is the first Housing Secretary to serve in the state in over 30 years and leads the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s pro-housing agenda.

Congratulations to the winners of our annual awards!

Special thanks to Kerry Insurance Agency and Seamen’s Bank

for their loyal support of our annual meeting.

Green and Healthy Affordable Housing

“Affordable housing should set the standard for residential healthy, net-zero energy design. This project will showcase the feasibility and the power of such an approach.”

 – Jay Coburn, CDP President & CEO

Everyone deserves a healthy, comfortable place to live. The CDP is committed to developing and providing housing that is affordable to people who live and work on the Lower and Outer Cape. We are also committed to providing housing that is environmentally sustainable and reduces operating costs.

In partnership with Preservation for Affordable Housing (POAH) and Studio G Architects, the CDP is working on a major affordable housing project on Lawrence Road, Wellfleet. The project aims to establish 46 new townhouse-style units that are high-efficiency, sustainable, and affordable. The Residences at Lawrence Hill, Wellfleet, have been designed according to passive house-building standards. The project is scheduled to break ground in fall 2024 and is designed to achieve nearly net zero in energy consumption, creating a community with a resilient design.

In January 2024, the State of Massachusetts awarded funding for the Residencies at Lawrence Hill. The Residences are designed according to passive house-building standards. It is a new development that will offer affordable housing to serve diverse residents, from seniors and families living on modest incomes to working families and empty nesters seeking to downsize into local, affordable housing. The project is also designed to achieve nearly net-zero in energy consumption, creating a community with a resilient design.

Read more about Green and Healthy Affordable Housing.

Shellfish Quota Program:

Delivering Success and Hope for Fishermen and Conservation Efforts 

Image: capecodfishermen.org

Cape Cod, renowned for its stunning coastline and vibrant maritime culture, harbors more than just scenic beauty. Beneath the waves, there lies a bountiful ecosystem teeming with shellfish, which has been the backbone of the fishing tradition for centuries. In recent years, this tradition has evolved through the implementation of a fishing catch share program. This program is a pioneering initiative aimed at promoting sustainability while supporting local livelihoods.

The shellfish quota program was first introduced on Cape Cod in 2010. It represents a proactive response to the dual challenges of overfishing and environmental degradation. Traditionally, fish harvesting has been subject to open-access regulations, where fishermen competed for limited resources. This has often led to depletion and ecological imbalance, which is unsustainable in the long run. Recognizing this concern, policymakers and stakeholders collaborated to design a more equitable and ecologically sound approach.



Read more about the CDP's Shellfish Quota Program.

Supporter Spotlight: Alison Supple Evans

“We need to make room for everyone to live here to be sustainable.”

 – Alison Supple Evans, Supple Apothecary, Orleans 

Meet Alison Supple Evans, the founder and owner of Supple Apothecary located in Orleans. This year, Supple Apothecary celebrates its 10th anniversary of helping people take excellent care of their skin and promoting their overall health. This milestone marks a journey of growth and success that has been years in the making, starting with Alison's early connection to Cape Cod.

Alison spent her childhood in Boston and visited Cape Cod every summer. She has fond memories of celebrating her first birthday on the Cape, and since then, she has celebrated almost every birthday here.

Read more about Alison Supple Evans.

Thank you for reading and for your support.

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