Housing Headlines

PROVINCETOWN --- A developer who was stopped from building 13 condominiums because one of seven buildings exceeded the 23-foot flat roof limit says he will now submit plans to complete the project with pitched roofs, which town bylaws allow up to 33 feet in height.

HADLEY --- The first developer to take advantage of Hadley's 2008 senior housing bylaw has hit a snag over which organization will certify the sale of the five affordable condos in the 32-unit project. The bylaw calls for the housing authority to oversee the sale but the housing authority says it only administers rentals, a flaw which has the developer seeking local amendments so he can make payments in lieu of creating affordable units.

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.