Housing Headlines

LEXINGTON --- Residents packed a recent selectmen's meeting to voice their concerns about the impact of National Development's plan to build senior housing on two parcels that it would purchase from Belmont Country Club. National Development has proposed to build 40 assisted living and 116 independent senior living units on a 13 acre lot and a 48-unit memory care facility on a four-acre lot.

WORCESTER --- Eight months after the 235-year-old hardware store closed its doors for good, the historic Elwood Adams building in downtown Worcester has been sold to BradyMac Capital. The Hingham-based developer company plans to turn use historic tax credits to turn the building into 12 to 15 upper-story apartments and ground-floor commercial space.

HOLYOKE --- WinnDevelopment has entered into an agreement with the Holyoke Redevelopment Authority to redevelop the former Farr Alpaca Mill into 100 mixed-income rental apartments. The start of the project is contingent on the developer securing financing, including historic and low-income housing tax credits.

WOBURN --- City officials and the owner of an 23-acre East Woburn mall are discussing plans to rezone and redevelop the site into a mixed-use community that would include 400 housing units and 175,000 square feet of retail space.

SHREWSBURY --- With an agreement in place with Worcester to allow some water flow to pass through the city to Millbury, selectmen have signed an agreement to let Boston-based Route 20 Nominee Trust to redevelop the 75-acre Shrewsbury drive-in site into a mixed-use development that will feature a Market Basket grocery store and 250 housing units.

GREENFIELD --- Nine days after reporting on "several" homeless people living on the cty's Common, the Greenfield Recorder is now reporting that the number of homeless has jumped to 20, an issue that has public officials grappling about what to do as they balance complaints from residents with the fact that right of assembly is specifically allowed on the Common as long as they are not in violation of any ordinance or law, and that they remain clean and orderly.