Housing Headlines

NEWTON --- With the Supreme Judicial Court ruling that Ch. 40B cannot be used to override zoning at the Wells Ave. office park, Sean Roche declares the 300-unit proposal for that site all but dead but argues Newton needs to stop chasing the dream of a revitalized suburban office park and start planning for mixed uses so it can compete with rivals liked the "revved up" Needham Office Park.

BEVERLY --- Columnist Nelson Benton notes how nice it was to see so many residents come out in support of a 75-unit affordable housing proposal in Beverly, a turnout he says is evidence of why this city is such a unique place to live.

BOSTON --- The Chinatown Community Land Trust has its eye on a city-owned parking lot near the Josiah Quincy School that is currently being leased to Tufts University and Tiufs Medical. Originally a site for Chinatown homes, the land was seized by eminent domain in the 1950s to make way for I-90 and I-93, and later was the site of the Wang YMCA bubble. "We think it's time for public land to come back to community control," said CCLT director Lydia Lowe at a recent community meeting.

WORCESTER --- The Planning Board made it official recently, approving the site plan which will pave the way for Botany Bay Construction to redevelop a former five-acre paper factory on Clover St. into seven buildings with 90 apartments. Located in the southwest corner of the city, the site was seized by the city several years ago for back taxes. Botany operates two well-known apartment complexes in the city - Botany Bay off June St. and Center Hill off Mill Street.

MILFORD --- The Planning Board is going to ask selectmen to formally support a developer Kevin Lobisser's bid for a Ch. 40B comprehensive land use permit for a coveted 45-acre parcel off Birch Street because the plan is for less units (166) and is seen to have a better traffic plan than a 266-unit condo plan the town rejected back in 2004.

HYANNIS - The graying of the homeless population is a concern all over Massachusetts, but especially on the Cape where at one shelter, 89 people over age 55 have been housed in an eight-month period, accounting for 34 percent of the shelter's population. Another survey found that 42 percent of the unsheltered in Barnstable County were between 50 and 64, with five percent over the age of 65.