Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- A check-cashing business moving into the storefront previously occupied by the longtime family-owned store called Nubian Notions prompted the Bay State Banner to ask longtime neighborhood observers about what they think is happening in Dudley Square, what will it take to energize the square and what's the proper mix of retail, other businesses and housing.

EASTHAM --- With an estimated 100 curb cuts over a 2.5 mile stretch of Route 6, the undivided four-lane highway running through Eastham's heart is an asphalt dinosaur and that's why local officials held a meeting recently to discuss declaring the stretch an area of critical concern, a designation that would, if approved by the county, provide a one-year moratorium on development so the town could come up with a highway plan that would shape the future of this stretch.

AMHERST --- With one local leader calling the situation "wholly unacceptable", the Amherst Select Board signaled its strong support for families left in limbo when Presidential Apartments management decided not to make six mandated affordable apartments available by Sept. 1, even though the housing authority had held a lottery and notified six families they could move in. The town, which is threatening to fine the developer $100 per day per unit, had its case bolstered when the state Department of Housing and Community Development notified the developer he is in default of the state's Local Initiative Program, which was used to build the new units.

NORWELL --- With state funding and a Ch. 40B comprehensive land use permit in hand, the MetroWest Collaborative is two steps closer to the permits and financing it needs to begin transforming the old police station into 20 mixed-income apartments for seniors. Still needed are septic system approval and order of conditions from the Conservation Commission.

TRURO --- Selectmen are moving forward with efforts to lift the town's ban on year-round condominium use, even as some town officials are saying the measure wouldn't produce many new year-round housing units, given the expense of updating seasonal cottages' interior and septic capacity for year-round use.

WORCESTER --- Botany Bay Construction - a local company with experience building, managing and owning apartment buildings - has been designated as the preferred developer for a former paper factory on Clover St. that was seized by the city for back taxes. Located in the southwest corner of the city, Botany is proposing to knock down the building and redevelop the five-acre site into seven buildings with 90 apartments. Botany operates two well-known apartment complexes in the city - Botany Bay off June St. and Center Hill off Mill Street.