Housing Headlines

ORLEANS --- To increase its ability to move quickly in the real estate market place, the Orleans Affordable Housing Trust Board has voted to pursue a $2 million revolving line of credit from Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank. The move is another step forward for the trust, which in 2018 - with guidance from MHP - received Town Meeting approval to reconstitute itself as well as $275,000 in town funds to pursue initiatives.

GREAT BARRINGTON — After more than two decades of attempts to develop a toxic waste site at the edge of downtown, the development team of The Community Corp. of South Berkshire and the Berkshire Housing Development Corp. has all the financing in place to move forward with developing 45 affordable apartments at 100 Bridge Street. Work is already well under way on cleaning up the site, which was the home to a factory that made logs for homes.

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.