Housing Headlines

MALDEN --- Vacant for more than a decade, the 17.6 acre Malden Hospital site is back in the news, with City Councilor John Matheson pushing that the site keep its zoning and be re-purposed into single-family homes and open space while Mayor Gary Christenson is leaning toward a proposal by developer Tony Green to build 18 cottages, 72 condos and 224 apartments while leaving seven acres as open space with walking trails. Christenson indicated he thinks Green's plan is a better fit for the city as long as the developer continues to address neighborhood concerns.

HYANNIS --- The developer who is proposing to build 30 market-rate condos on the former site of the Dockside Restaurant has asked the town to waive its inclusionary zoning bylaw that requires that 10 percent of the units be affordable, arguing that the project represents the redevelopment of a property into a new neighborhood and that requiring three affordable units represents an extra $400,000 to $600,000 in project costs.

SOMERVILLE --- Despite the protests of an estimated "hundreds" outside city hall, the planning board voted 5-1 to waive the new inclusionary bylaw conditions that would have required the developer of Assembly Row to make 20 percent of its apartment units affordable in its next phase of development, instead agreeing to a compromise that calls for Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRIT) to do 16 percent, 31 of which will be on site and $10.3 million to support 49 apartments off site. The context of asking for the waiver was because last year changed its inclusionary bylaw, boosting the required total from 12.5 percent to 20 percent.

HYANNIS --- The nonprofit Homeless Not Hopeless' bid to buy a residential home and turn it into housing for eight homeless individuals is now in doubt as the seller has asked to be released from the purchase and sale contract amidst strong objections from neighbors about locating the homeless home in their neighborhood.

IPSWICH --- Longtime local reporter Dan Mac Alpine pens a tribute to Gerry Beauchamp, "the man everyone in Ipswich knows." After a life in various businesses, Beauchamp was executive director of the Ipswich YMCA for 14 years and was a driving force behind such achievements as the 48-unit Powder House Village and a $3.4 million Y expansion that included an outdoor pool. Mac Alpine published his story about Beauchamp, an avid distance runner, on May 1, a few weeks after Beauchamp became ill while preparing for an April 8 road race in Washington D.C. Beauchamp passed away on May 10.

NEWTON --- A developer's bid to build 68 apartments on a municipal parking lot within walking distance of a Newton commuter rail station may finally move forward after a second suit by residents has been dismissed. The second suit was brought by three residents who claimed the project has and will cause them harm. The suit was dismissed due in part to the plaintiffs failure to provide expert testimony and because they did not have legal standing as abutters because none of them owned property next to the site.