Housing Headlines

MILTON --- The long-delayed effort to reuse the old Hendries ice cream factory site appears to be on hold again as the state is reviewing the asbestos removal involved in the demolition of the building to make way for 38 condos and 3,800 square feet of retail space. The demolition will now likely be pushed back to Labor Day as a holiday weekend is preferred so as not to disrupt regular service on the Mattapan high-speed trolley line.

An editorial in the Lynn Item hails the final local approval for a development that will bring 332 units to a former Lynnway auto dealership that has been vacant for 35 years.

DENNIS --- On May 15, the Baker-Polito Administration came to the Cape to announce nearly $8 million in funding to support the creation of almost 100 units of supportive housing in seven developments. The funding includes 5.5 million in state funding, 28 project-based state housing vouchers, and will leverage $2.5 million from the National Housing Trust Fund. The developments are located in Dennis, Holyoke, Northampton, Pittsfield, Quincy, Wareham/Sandwich and Worcester.

HAVERHILL --- Analysis done for Haverhill's soon-to-be-released housing plan shows that the city had the second lowest housing growth rate in the region, and that 39 percent of the population is cost-burdened, even though the city's rents are lower than other communities. In its favor, 10 percent of homeowners in the city are 25 to 34, compared to 7 percent across the region, a stat that caused Mayor James Fiorentini to express the need for more single-family home construction.

BARNSTABLE --- In an effort to put distressed properties back on the tax roles, the Town of Barnstable has sold 23 tax-foreclosed properties for a total of approximately $500,000. Prices ranged from $150,000 for a .36 acre lot in Cotuit to $500 for a .33 acre parcel in Hyannis.

BREWSTER --- Voters at Town Meeting took two steps toward increasing its supply of affordable housing on May 7, authorizing the creation of an affordable housing trust and voting to transfer a 15-acre town-owned parcel to the select board for community housing, with an additional restriction that the land be used for affordable housing.