Housing Headlines

WEYMOUTH --- With the recent approval of a new housing plan, the Town of Weymouth has increased its chances of getting state grant funding to explore the possibility of redeveloping one of its four large public housing developments with new mixed-income housing as well as making necessary repairs and upgrades to the affordable housing already there.

CHELMSFORD --- In a report to selectmen, Community Development Director Evan Belansky predicted that with the number of housing developments and affordable apartments in the pipeline, Chelmsford's affordable housing supply will jump from 9.64 percent to over 10 percent by the 2020 census and will likely stay that way for a few years to come.

GLOUCESTER --- Harborlight Community Partners' plan to turn the YMCA building on Middle St. into 53 affordable apartments for low- to moderate-income households depends on the city and the developers of the $70 million Fuller School site reaching an agreement on a variety of issues. The Fuller School plan includes 200 units of market-rate housing and a new YMCA, which would free up the Middle St. site to be used to satisfy affordable housing obligations of the Fuller St. plan. But several issues need to be ironed out, including a consultant's finding that the Fuller plan does not fulfill the city's requirements for allowing affordable housing to be built off site.

BOSTON --- Concerns about affordability were raised during a recent public meeting about Millennium Partners' plan to develop city-owned parcel P-12C into 171 units - 45 rental units for households between 30 to 60 percent of area median income and 126 homeownership mixed-income homeownership units.The proposal - for 288 Tremont St. - will also include establishing a permanent home for the Chinatown branch of the Boston Public Library. Several attendees expressed concern that the housing would not truly be affordable, with only nine units being affordable to 30 percent AMI households.

WEYMOUTH --- The long-awaited redevelopment of a vacant lot at Weymouth Landing has hit another snag as developer Nick Delegas will have to reconfigure his design after learning that building the four-story building over an existing culvert will be too expensive. Delegas said he will reconfigure the design so it won't interfere with the culvert, a change that will cut his four-story mixed-use project from 87 to 81 units.

WORCESTER --- During a Facebook Live q&a organized by the Worcester Telegram Police Chief Steven Sargent and City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. discussed recent reports of disturbances created by homeless people at the library and other public buildings, and the possibility of creating a resource center for homeless to go when other facilities aren't open.