Housing Headlines

GLOUCESTER --- City approval of the Fuller School redevelopment plan is not just about turning the site into a mixed-use development with 200 market-rate units, retail and a new YMCA as the approval would clear the way for Harborlight Community Partners to pursue plans to turn the old Y on Middle St. into 53 affordable apartments.

SOUTHBOROUGH --- Residents in a neighborhood that have been opposing a 180-unit apartment proposal because of its potential to add traffic and reduce safety on narrow rural streets have another complaint - the DPW recently added a single yellow line to Flagg Road one Friday night without telling residents, who discovered the new safety feature when they awoke in the morning.

RANDOLPH --- Citing demographic challenges such as modest population spike and doubling of the region's over-65 population, the South Shore Chamber of Commerce has released a housing report that urges rging towns and developers to shift residential development away from traditional single-family subdivisions, toward “more compact, walkable neighborhoods,” with condos, townhouses and apartments near MBTA stations and shopping centers.

The Cape and Islands United Way has awarded a $17,000 grant to support its efforts by two nonprofits to increase the region's affordable housing capacity. The funds will be used to support the Cape Community Housing Partnership, a new initiative designed to raise awareness about the need for affordable housing through advocacy training, a messaging campaign and a Housing Institute training series for municipal officials and volunteers. The initiative is a joint effort of the Community Development Partnership of Eastham and the Housing Assistance Corporation, which is based in Barnstable.

AMHERST --- Six affordable apartments that were created when Presidential Apartments added 54 units have not been filled yet, as the Amherst Housing Authority had to tell lottery winners that the apartments would not be available. According to the owners, additional vetting by the apartment complex's leasing company found credit issues with applicants who were selected in the lottery.

HAMILTON --- Despite uncertainty about whether two affordable housing proposals will actually go forward, the Hamilton Affordable Housing Trust has voted to allocate $300,000 to support the construction of 20 apartments for seniors on the site of a former Willow Street shoe repair shop. Slated to be developed by the nonprofit Harborlight Community Partners, the development is contingent upon Harborlight getting local approvals to build 20 to 40 apartments on another site, something the trust has pledged to support if a site can be found.