The state has designated 67 communities as Housing Choice Communities and, in partnership with MassHousing, awarded Planning for Housing Production technical assistance grants to 15 municipalities.

The announcements are part of the Housing Choice Initiative, a new effort to create 135,000 new housing units by 2025.

Communities who received the Housing Choice Designation have produced a total of nearly 60,000 new housing units over the last five years. The Housing Choice Designation will allocate new financial resources, including exclusive access to new Housing Choice Capital Grants and preferential treatment for many state grant and capital funding programs, including MassWorks, Complete Streets, MassDOT capital projects and PARC and LAND grants.

“Our economy continues to create new jobs and attract top talent in life sciences, healthcare, academia, advanced manufacturing, and in our thriving innovation eco-system from across the country, and the world,” Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash said in a statement. “We must accelerate housing production, for all of our residents, to keep pace with our growing economy, and keep Massachusetts an attractive place to live, work and thrive.”