Housing Headlines

NEWTON --- After serving for nine years as Needham’s Economic Development Director, Devra Bailin has announced she is leaving to do the same job in Newton. During Bailin's tenure, the N Squared Innovation District - home of Trip Advisor - took shape and Needham rezoned commercial areas near Route 128 to allow housing, an effort which MHP cited in 2016 when it awarded the town one of its annual Housing Hero awards.

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll continues to be a strong supporter of affordable housing, penning another editorial in the Salem News calling for the legislature to pass Gov. Charlie Baker's Housing Choice proposal., Driscoll, who accepted an MHP Housing Hero Award for the city back in June, co-wrote a similar editorial last spring with Governor Baker.

NEWTON --- After being rejected by the City Council last year, developer Robert Korff of Mark Development is back before the council with a smaller plan for the Riverside Station on the MBTA's Green Line. The new proposal cuts the total project from 1.5 million to 1.2 million square feet and the number of proposed housing units from 675 to 526. There would also be a new hotel to replace the Indigo Hotel and a half-million square feet of office space. Also gone from the plan is an 18-foot tower. A 13-story building remains part of the plan.

WOBURN --- Despite initially balking when the request was initially made, the Woburn City Council voted 6-3 recently that the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance will not be applied to the 100-unit elderly portion of Legatt McCall's mixed-use proposal fir a 61-acre industrial site near Route 93.

HOLYOKE --- The Holyoke Housing Authority is continuing to seek input from residents on ways to deliver more housing options in the the South Holyoke, especially in an area around Carlos Vega Park on Hamilton Street. At a recent listening session, the housing authority presented a scale model of the neighborhood and the locations of current structures and empty lots primed for development. The housing authority plans to continue this outreach in person and online, while also doing development due diligence on what's possible in terms of rental and/or homeownership and what it would cost.

Banker & Tradesman's James Sanna reports that Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone has posted on his Facebook page his support of rent control bills in the state legislature, which some legislators are advocating become part of Governor Baker's Housing Choice legislation. This package of counter-proposals, touted by Cambridge Rep. Mike Connolly and Boston Rep. Nika Elugardo, would let towns and cities establish rent control measures, eviction restrictions, require multifamily zoning near transit nodes and a $1 billion bond for affordable housing construction. Baker's bill has the support of the commercial real estate industry but some are concerned that tacking on additional measures may prevent the bill from passing while others feel the bill doesn't do enough as is. (This story is behind a paywall).