Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- In a speech to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, MassMutual CEO Roger Crandall ticked off a list of policy measures he'd like to see his fellow business leaders get behind - Governor Charlie Baker's Housing Choice bill, more downpayment assistance for homebuyers, early childhood education, a commuter rail link between Springfield and Boston, and helping the poor, an issue MassMutual is supporting via a recent $1 million donation to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's Way Home Fund.

In a column spelling out four ways the Commonwealth can deal with its housing crisis, Karen Kelleher of LISC-Boston and Paul Grogan and the Boston Foundation call for the private sector to get involved in housing solutions, writing it must get involved by providing grant funds and low-cost capital at scale. Kelleher and Grogan cites anchor institutions like Harvard, Mass General and Children's Hospital stepping up as a model businesses can follow.

Earlier this month, Apple became the latest tech company to address California's housing crisis, pledging $2.5 billion - $1 billion for an affordable housing investment fund, $1 billion to buy mortgages and making a $300 million property it owns in San Jose available for affordable housing development. Apple joins Facebook and Google, which earlier this year pledged $1 billion each in grants and loans in California.

BOSTON --- Sign up now for a discussion about ways to promote housing stability and prevent homelessness on Tuesday, Dec. 3 from 9 to 10 a.m. Organized by Metro Housing|Boston, the panel will feature City of Boston housing chief Sheila Dillon and other experts from the state, medical and development community. The discussion will center around the annual report on the state's Residential Assistance for Families in Transition Program (RAFT), which Metro Housing administers in Boston and 28 surrounding communities.

BOSTON --- With the knowledge that over 300 people under the age of 24 sleep on the city's streets or in shelters on any given night, the City of Boston has announced it is dedicating $4.7 million in grant funds to create 157 new homes for homeless youth and young adults through "Rising to the Challenge," an initiative in which the city pledges to work more cohesively with other organizations on youth homelessness.

BOSTON --- Efforts to produce housing with services at a scale big enough to dent the problem took a big step forward earlier this month as the Boston Planning and Development Agency gave the green light to plans by the Pine Street Inn and The Community Builders to co-develop 202 apartments, including 140 with services for people who have been homeless. Plans originally called for 225 units but the plan approved cut 23 mixed-income units. The city's zoning board of appeals still has to grant some variances.