Housing Headlines

SOUTHBOROUGH --- Local developer Scott Bemis has withdrawn his plan to turn a vacant lot in the town's business village district into a mixed-use building because the town's zoning does not allow apartments in its village district. Bemis plans to resubmit his plan by substituting the term "hotel/motel," because it's permissible under state building code, which applies because the town zoning is not specific. Bemis also cited a Route 9 motel as an example of this type of extended stay use as "I don't see anyone gong there for a nightly stay."

HAMILTON --- In a move to support a non-profit Harborlight Community Partners' aim to buy and build about 100 affordable housing units on a parcel near the regional high school, the Hamilton Affordable Housing Trust will seek $1 million from voters at Special Town Meeting this fall. “The overwhelming odds are if we do nothing we’re going to be faced with a 40B that is an enormous size," explained Hamilton AHT member Marc Johnson. "We have a chance of shaping it into something smaller that the town can handle.”

BOSTON --- The 347-unit Fairlawn apartment community - serving the Mattapan area since the 1960s - has been sold to an affiliate of the DSF Group of Waltham for $65 million. The seller was an affiliate of the private equity firm ARES Management, which had owned the property since 2011. Fairlawn consists of 12 four-story apartment buildings featuring 14 studios, 143 one-bedroom and 190 two-bedroom apartments. It is located across the street from the new Blue Hills Avenue Commuter Rail Station, which is set to open in 2019.

PITTSFIELD --- At a recent Berkshire Housing Summit, the Baker Administration's Jay Ash provided an economic overview while Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyler talked about how CPA and downtown zoning has helped her city. The focus on downtown's was echoed by Tim Geller of the Community Development Corp. of South Berkshire, who said "all the projects we're doing now are downtown."

WORCESTER --- Citing rising housing costs in the private rental market, the Worcester Housing Authority Board of Commissioners have voted to increase the amount of money given to Section 8 voucher holders by five percent and an extra five percent for people with one-bedroom apartments. The WHA board voted on a recommendations made by WHA executive director Alex Corrales. A recent WHA analysis shows that more than 40 percent of its roughly 4,000 Section 8 voucher holders are paying more than 30 percent of their monthly income on rent, and 27 percent of people who are selected to receive Section 8 vouchers for the first time cannot find housing even with the voucher,

According to the real estate tracking firm Zillow, median rents rental prices in the Greater Boston real estate market fell 1.3 percent compared to last year, mirroring a trend seen nationwide.The median rent in the Boston metro was $2,366 in August — compared to $2,396 in August 2017. Reasons for nationwide cooling include more apartment production and millennials entering the home-buying market, according to Zillow economist Sarah Mikhitarian.