Welcome to MALT!

The Massachusetts Artists Land Trust (or MALT) is an intentional community that currently operates 5 housing units. Our mission is to keep these properties permanently affordable, support access to housing for artists, host events and operate event spaces, and help form housing and business cooperatives.

We are supporting this mission by taking steps to transition to an incorporated Community Land Trust.

History

The first version of MALT dates back to the mid-2010s. Political events in the United States forced some of MALT's founders to reckon with the need for affordable and democratically controlled housing: not just for the queer and trans people already being pushed out of Boston, but also for the many others expected to seek refuge in Massachusetts in coming years.

A mix of economic and political research resulted in a multi-year plan to find the right people, resources, and properties to start a new intentional community structured as a housing cooperative. This plan drew from challenges lived through in the Boston rental market, as well as experiences at a variety of rental cooperatives and other intentional communities.

The first property that would become part of MALT was acquired ahead of schedule in late 2018, as an individual purchase. It took a year to settle into the routines of homeownership, and just as we began to stabilize we entered the era of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Early in 2020, members of the MALT community helped found Malden Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Several of us took part in projects such as hand sanitizer delivery, grocery distribution, and cloth mask sewing.

Over this period, the MALT community incorporated the beliefs and perspectives of everyone living here. Members of this early version of MALT drafted a consensus statement on values, and helped refine our initial interest in founding a cooperative into a more detailed plan to incorporate as a non-profit Community Land Trust.

MALT expected to formally incorporate before pursuing additional property acquisition, but unexpectedly, a second property on the same block became available in early 2021. The MALT community discussed this opportunity and reached consensus on acquiring this property ahead of schedule as well.

In 2023, the MALT community faced tragedy as two community members passed unexpectedly within the same year. <TBD memorial link>

2025 is a dark year, but we have had a decade to prepare. We have the people, we have the resources, and we have the properties. Our next step is to file incorporation paperwork and publicly launch our memberships. We are excited to begin our transition to a communally owned and sustainable non-profit.