Housing Headlines

WORCESTER --- Due in part to a 2014 zoning amendment that allows the conversion of old school buildings into residential in all zoning districts, local developers Timothy Adler and Daniel Stroe are moving forward with plans to turn the 93-year-old Indian Hill Elementary School into 29 market-rate apartments. MassDevelopment is supporting the effort, partnering with Marlboro-based Main Street Bank on a $2.79 million loan. The Indian School reuse is the first to be built under the new special permit bylaw, which applies only to schools built before 1950.

HINGHAM --- Conscious of the town's aging population and that 20 percent of its citizens earn less than $40,000 per year, Hingham Town Meeting easily passed by the necessary two-thirds majority a bylaw that will allow by special permit the creation of in-law apartments in homes.

SUDBURY --- Selectman have voted to give its planning chief Meagen Donoghue the green light to submit an application for Gov. Charlie Baker's Housing Choice Initiative, a new program that offers a system of incentives to cities and towns that build housing.

WEYMOUTH --- The city's bid to renovate Lakeview Manor Public Housing and mix in market-rate units may be able to tap into another funding source as Gov. Charlie Baker has nominated the Lakeview Manor census tract as an "opportunity zone," thereby making it eligible for federal tax breaks under a new program created by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

TEWKSBURY --- Citing the project's size and the developer's lack of experience doing a large development with a Ch. 40B comprehensive permit, selectmen voted 4-1 against partnering with developer Janes Andella on a 77-unit housing development under the state's Local Initiative Program (LIP).

SOMERVILLE --- Thanks in large part to city CPA funds and bond funding from MassDevelopment and East Boston Savings Bank, the Somerville Community Corp. has now purchased 45 units in 10 properties. Called the 100 Homes campaign, SCC's efforts have prevented the displacement of 26 households, including five households in danger of losing their mobile Section 8 voucher. Five units purchased will serve homeless families and individuals.