Housing Headlines

AMESBURY --- Local developer David Martin, who has developed three other commercial properties in the city, has signed an agreement with the city to purchase the former 109-year old Horace Mann Elementary School and has indicated he plans to turn it into 10 to 12 apartments, which would be his first residential project in the city.

BILLERICA --- With four key town properties either vacant or soon to be idle, the Town of Billerica is beginning to have conversations in Town Hall and with the community as to what would be the best use for each. With the Department of Public Works set to move to a new location, the current DPW site on Boston Road seems best for development, followed by two schools and lastly the Cabot Land, which residents see as open space. Either way, Community Development Director Rob Anderson doesn't want to jump the gun. “Feedback from residents is number one,” he said. “We don’t want to do anything that upsets the applecart or that changes the character of Billerica. There are opportunities that are out there, when viewed strategically, that can increase the quality of life for neighborhoods and residents.”

HAMILTON --- Citing declining enrollment stats, a newspaper editorial says that a town-meeting mandated group authorized to study the use of land near the regional high school for a new school and athletic fields is a stalling tactic and it urged a local nonprofit that's been eyeing the land to move forward with its housing development plans.

WORCESTER --- The Baker-Polito Administration has continued its support of the Worcester Housing Authority's "A Better Life" initiative, appropriating $389,000 in state planning grants to expand the work and self-sufficiency program to state-funded housing authority units in New Bedford, Taunton, Chelsea and Gloucester.

HAMILTON --- A study group formed at recent town meetings in Hamilton and Wenham is looking at whether the two towns should spend $14 million to buy all parcels on Longmeadow Way for use as athletic fields or new schools. Part of the land is currently being eyed for an affordable housing development by the nonprofit Harborlight Community Partners, as part of an agreement with the town to explore housing development opportunities. This effort has stalled due to resistance from residents living near the proposed sites.

In an article tackling California's enduring housing crisis, a nonprofit policy journal dedicated to uncovering solutions turns to Massachusetts and asks if its controversial Ch. 40B housing law is the solution the Golden State needs. In the article, Preservation of Affordable Housing Executive Director Aaron Gornstein,who while at CHAPA led a broad-based effort to defeat a ballot question to repeal 40B, said, "It should be viewed as an important tool, but not the only tool. I don’t want to overplay it. This isn’t a magic bullet. But it certainly will help.”