Housing Headlines

WORCESTER --- In advance of the release of the first phase of a city-wide housing study, leaders from the city, business and non-profit sectors discuss Worcester's housing situation and what's the right balance of affordable and market-rate housing given that the city's population has grown by approximately 14,000 since the year 2000.

GRAFTON --- After years of planning, the town has signed a deal with the state to purchase 8.8 acres of land on the former Grafton State Hospital site for $1. The town now plans to put out a request for proposal seeking a developer to propose a mixed-use residential and commercial development.

QUINCY --- The Quincy Housing Authority has posthumously honored Rosemary (McGrory) Wahlberg for her decades of work to improve social programs for under-served families and children in the city. The Dorchester-born Wahlberg, who died this past summer at 87, served on the board of the Quincy Housing Authority for over 40 years and was executive director of Quincy Community Action Programs for 25 years. At an event on Feb. 8, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch Koch said Wahlberg understood the importance of keeping families together, and knew that housing and jobs are the keys to accomplishing that.

WAYLAND --- Developer Chris D'Antonio's attempt to get a Ch. 40B land use permit so he can a single-family lot into 12 mixed-income apartments is hinging on whether he can convince the state to let him build a septic system 62 feet from wetlands. The state requirement is 50 feet but Wayland regulations say septic systems must be 100 feet from wetlands.

ALLSTON --- The longtime owner of Stadium Auto Body in Allston has joined with the Mugar Enterprises to plan a Kendall Square-like development on the auto shop land and surrounding properties, a deal - called NEXUS - that reflects the surging development scene in Allston and Brighton, but also the tension between growth and local residents, who fear the neighborhood will become too big, too crowded and too gentrified.

WEYMOUTH --- Washington Capital Management - the firm that lent $60 million to LStar for the redevelopment of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station - recently bought 115 acres for just over $33 million at a public auction. All told, the lender bought 40 lots ranging from a quarter acre to 30 acres at what's now called Union Point and will do what it can to recoup its investment, a spokesman for Washington Capital said.