Housing Headlines

MILFORD --- Led by Brother Steve Jubin of the Missionaries of Charity, Milford's charitable organizations are teaming up to open emergency shelters this winter, using three churches on a rotating basis that will combine to offer a place to sleep for 20 individuals on winter nights. Jubin, who has worked with the homeless in Milford's downtown for years, said the move is to provide a place to stay for people who live in tents and are exposed to the extreme cold.

BRAINTREE --- Having tried previously to develop a 3.37 acre site that once included a gas station and still has an historic home, local developer George Clements has taken the first steps toward applying to the town for a Ch. 40B comprehensive permit so he can build 96 mixed-income rental apartments. Neighbors have previously opposed proposals to build a Cumberland Farms gas station and store, and then 48 age-restricted condominiums.

BOSTON --- In contrast to most housing stories you read, residents at a public meeting expressed hopes that plans to redevelop a vacant lot in the Four Corners' section of Dorchester were finally getting under way after more than a decade of starts and stops. Those views were expressed at a meeting where Codman Square Executive Director Gail Latimore and her project manager, Megan Reagon, explained plans to build a three-story residential townhouse building and a four-story 32-unit apartment building on Bowdoin Street and Bowdoin Avenue.

BOSTON --- In a move explained as a response to neighborhood feedback, British student-housing developer Scape is expected to abandon plans to build private dorms in the Fenway and will instead file plans to build more than 1,300 apartments, including one building with 220 affordable units and part of another for families visiting nearby Children's Hospital.

ORLEANS --- The Orleans Fire Dept. is having trouble filling a paramedic position and Chief Anthony Pike says it's because of a lack of affordable housing and the requirement that paramedics live close to their responsibility area. Pike added that finding paramedics is not just an Orleans problem. “This is what’s happening Cape-wide,” Pike said. “Our neighbors are in the same boat from Provincetown to Bourne." By law, public safety officers have to live within 10 miles of the station but Orleans has a tougher standard - six miles. “They have to be able to be at the station within 15 minutes,” Pike said.

SOMERVILLE --- After a year of discussions, master developer US2 has reached an agreement with community representatives on specific amenities and mitigations the neighborhood will receive as part of the redevelopment of Union Square. The agreement includes an understanding on affordable housing production, union labor, sustainable building practices and 3.5 acres of green and open space.