Housing Headlines

Elizabeth Street may be the Shrewsbury Housing Authority’s next site of development. In February, the authority met with representatives from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, a quasi-public agency that helps communities build more homes.

Today, Governor Maura Healey announced that she is appointing Juana Matias as Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC). Matias previously served as Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is a former Massachusetts State Representative for the 16th Essex District. Current Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus will step down from his position on Friday, February 27, and Deputy Secretary Jennifer Maddox will serve as Interim Secretary until Matias assumes her position on April 1.

Fire codes have long required two staircases in mid-rise apartment buildings. But advocates worry that drives up construction costs. So the state will study doing away with one.

MONTAGUE — The new resident-led Montague Housing Coalition discussed the current state of housing affordability statewide and locally, as well as opportunities for housing advocacy in the five villages, during a kick-off meeting on Wednesday.

Devens --- A new future for housing construction may be emerging on a two-acre parcel at the former Fort Devens military base northwest of Boston. That’s because Devens landlord MassDevelopment has inked a $600,000 deal to sell the site to home manufacturer Reframe Systems Inc., which plans to build six two-unit duplexes there and sell the 12 units inside as four-bedroom condos.

Boston --- The good news about Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s lawsuit against nine cities and towns that have ignored the MBTA Communities law is that it’s only nine. Despite some grumbling, the vast majority of the 177 municipalities covered by the law, which requires them to allow more of the housing that Massachusetts desperately needs, have complied.