On October 22, 2025, over 50 people gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking at Way Finders’ latest housing development, Essex Village in Holyoke. Essex Village is bringing 41 units of affordable housing to the Churchill neighborhood, in 4 buildings that surround our Library Commons community.

On the importance of these affordable developments, Way Finders President and CEO Keith Fairey said:

“The impact is priceless. The impact on the community; the signal that it sends to the surrounding neighbors – that this is a place worth investing it. This is a place where people will build their hopes and dreams. This is a place where people will come home from a hard day and find some peace. This is a place where people will heal and recover. This is a place where people will thrive. That’s the signal we send when together we invest in community in this way.”

Speakers marking the occasion were Keith Fairey; Ed Augustus, Housing Secretary of Massachusetts; Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia; Melissa Prohaska of M&T Bank and the Way Finders board of directors; and Dana LeWinter, of Massachusetts Housing Partnership. Thanks to Haynes Construction for prepping the site for our guests and opening up the historic Essex 1888 building for tours.

We expect to start taking applications for apartments in the first few months of 2026.