Housing Headlines

MASHPEE --- The town's Affordable Housing Trust has authorized the town manager to ink an agreement with a development team to proceed on developing a tax-foreclosed property behind the Southcape Resort Club into 39 affordable apartments. Picked to the develop the property are Preservation of Affordable Housing of Boston and the Housing Assistance Corp. of Cape Cod, which has partnered together before on Melpet Farm in Dennis.

AMHERST - A key 204-unit mixed-income affordable housing complex with 41 affordable apartments that are vital to a housing market dominated by students will remain affordable for years to come due to a $30 million refinancing loan by Rockport Mortgage to Beacon Communities, which bough the property in 2014 to preserve it from losing its affordability. The long-term financing caps an effort by the town and MHP community assistance to save the affordable units as the use restrictions were expiring. MHP worked with the town on a solution, which involved Beacon purchasing the property and the town contributing $1.25 million in CPA funds to help preserve the 41 affordable units.

FRANKLIN --- Spurred by the realization that two men were left homeless after a house fire, Town Councilor Andrew Bissanti was shocked to learn that at least 30 other people in Franklin are homeless. This discovery has led to lots of discussion and meetings to figure out how to increase resources for homeless, including establishing homeless shelters or warming rooms.

WEYMOUTH --- The town is looking to buy a 13-acre foreclosed industrial property and seek a developer to build affordable housing, assuming it can buy the outstanding mortgage and then get federal funding to clean up hazardous waste that was dumped on the site from the 1960s to the 1980s. Zoning would also have to be changed as the site - near the intersection of Routes 18 and 53 - is zoned commercial.

NATICK --- Less than a year after Town Meeting defeated a proposal to relax downtown residential parking requirements for developers, the Planning Board and other town officials are discussing putting forth another article that would encourage downtown development, especially a downtown site that is now vacant after a summer fire destroyed a historic building. Town officials say developers have turned away from developing downtown housing near Natick's commuter rail stop because they can't meet the parking requirements, which are one parking spot per studio or one-bedroom unit; 1.5 spaces for a two-bedroom unit; and two spots per three-bedroom space.

YARMOUTH --- A bylaw designed to promote the transformation of Yarmouth's Route 28 motels into affordable housing continues to prove successful as a second motel is poised to change ownership within the next few weeks. Yarmouth Gardens - the oldest motel in town - is set to be sold to Cambridge-based Commonwealth Community Developers, which will demolish the four buildings and construct two buildings with 40 apartments. Owners Oreste and Sheila Volpe gave the town the first option to buy the property in 2016 and the town's Affordable Housing Trust selected Commonwealth. The town then committed $1.2 million in Community Preservation Act funds to support the development. This would be the second motel property developed under the town's bylaw. The 69-unit Yarmouth Commons opened this past summer.