Housing Headlines

HARWICH --- The town is exploring using Community Preservation Act funds to pay for a part-time housing coordinator, something that's called for in the town's new housing plan. Both Yarmouth and Wellfleet have coordinators.

LUDLOW --- Residents who reportedly had to wait over two hours to speak let loose on Way Finder's proposal to build 43 affordable apartments, with one critic calling the non-profit developer "disgusting" for apparently negotiating over the amount of handicapped parking spots the project should have. Residents also complained about the impact on real estate values, the location of the project near a school and that the location is too dangerous for children and elderly because of recent reports of bears roaming the neighborhood.

MARLBOROUGH --- An updated housing study initiated after City Council initiated a six-month building ban found that new housing has not meant more students. According to RKG Associates, 1,500 apartments and 700 owner units have been built in the city since 2002 but enrollment in that time has declined.

BEVERLY --- With Governor Charlie Baker in attendance, Barnat Development broke ground on June 14 on a new six-story, 67-unit apartment complex right in front of the Beverly Depot Commuter Rail Station. Sixteen of the units will be affordable to middle income households, a Baker Administration initiative that is being funded through MassHousing's $100 million Workforce Housing Initiative. Workforce housing is for households making between 61 and 120 percent of area median income.

LUDLOW --- Residents say they have received robocalls from selectmen urging them to attend a Zoning Board of Appeals hearing at the high school regarding a non-profit's application for a Ch. 40B land-use permit so it can build 43 affordable apartments across from an elementary school. The Ludlow Board of Selectmen and other town officials have been steadfast in their disapproval of this project at this site and have hired land-use attorney Daniel Hill of Cambridge to provide legal advice on the issue.

NEWTON --- The developer of the controversial 68-unit Austin Street mixed-income project near the Mass. Pike and the MBTA commuter rail has told the city his company will break ground in the spring of 2018 now that he's reached a settlement with plaintiffs whose legal challenges have delayed the project since it was approved in 2015.