Housing Headlines

BREWSTER --- Despite the objections of some neighbors, Oceans Edge Resort & Golf Club has received permission from the Planning Board to roll in seven prefabricated buildings that will house 84 seasonal workers.

WELLESLEY --- With four Ch. 40B land use permits requests before the town, the Swellesley Report - an online news source covering Wellesley - partnerd with Wellesley Public Media to produce a nine-minute "primer" that explains how Ch. 40B works and how the community is wrestling with how to diversify its housing stock.

WORCESTER --- The City Council has OK'd a property tax break for the $21.3 million Kelley Square mixed-use development, a final piece in local businessmen Allen Fletcher and Raymond Quinlan's plans to turn two vacant lots into a four-story building with 20,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 48 market-rate apartments on the upper floors.

HANOVER --- One week after releasing a report that articulates why housing is a key part of the South Shore Chamber's 2030 growth strategy initiative, chamber CEO Peter Forman was part of a housing forum panel that discussed the need for housing in Hanover. Also speaking was Susan Connelly, who provided specific demographic information about the town, its slow population growth and the potential impact on tax burdens down the road.

FITCHBURG -- Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and the state's economic development director, Jay Ash, were the keynote speakers at the grand opening of Fitchburg Yarn Works, the redevelopment of an abandoned mill into 96 mixed-income apartments along the Nashua River. Developed by WinnCompanies, the property is already 98 percent leased up. State support includes a $2.8 million loan from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership's bank-funded loan pool.

BOSTON --- Repoters Kathleen Conti and Tim Logan take an in-depth look at The Beverly, Boston's first complex composed entirely of "workforce housing," which means affordable and mid-priced housing and wider income restrictions (up to $198,000 per year). Located near North Station, the 249-unit complex has drawn criticism from advocates that more units should be affordable while others say having units priced below luxury can only help alleviate the region's housing crunch.