Housing Headlines

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.

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.