Housing Headlines

LYNN --- The Baker Administration's commitment to build 1,000 workforce housing units through MassHousing's Workforce Housing Initiative celebrated its first milestone last month as state and local leaders gathered to cut the ribbon on Gateway North, a $31 million, 71-unit mixed-income development on Washing Street across the street from North Shore Community College.

HOPEDALE --- The town has put forth a 42-page urban renewal plan that outlines the redevelopment of the former Draper Corp. factory site with over 500 units of housing and 170,000 square feet of commercial space. “If the design, construction, and pricing is ‘on point,’ people will come to live in Hopedale and support the redevelopment as well as providing housing options for young people that grew up in Hopedale but are unable to afford the current housing stock and are forced to move outside the town they grew up in,” the plan says.

WALTHAM --- With 11,000 jobs added and just a few hundred new housing units, Waltham is one of a handful of "job-rich" towns along Route 128 that have become "ground zero for Boston housing crunch," writes Tim Logan in a front-page report on the demand for housing in this city of 63,000.

MASHPEE --- Local discussions on the planned expansion of Mashpee Commons are centering on zoning, with the planning board originating two town meeting articles that would include an open space requirement of one acre for every acre developed, inclusionary zoning requiring that 15 percent of the housing be affordable and density of no more than 50 units per acre.

MARLBOROUGH --- City officials are considering a zoning overlay district for Marlboro Airport, a decision that could pave the way for the construction of a 114-unit retirement village. Several Urban Affairs Committee members have said they are on the fence about the proposed overlay district.Councilors must approve the district before Southborough-based Capital Group Properties - which has an agreement to buy the nearly 20-acre airport land from owner Sandy Stetson - can apply for a special permit.

SOUTHBOROUGH --- A local builder was the only respondent to a request for proposals by the town to buy the Fayville Village Hall. Bartolini Builders bid $5,000 to purchase the property and is proposing to build at least three condos, two of which would be afffordable and would satisfy the builder's obligation to build affordable housing on another site the company is developing. The town's RFQ included 13 conditions, including that the winning bidder determine whether a septic system can be built on the site.