Housing Headlines

TISBURY --- On the first night of Town Meeting, voters approved $570,000 in CPA funds to support Kuehn's Way, a 20-unit affordable housing development proposed by the Island Housing Trust for a 4.5 acre site off State Road.

LOWELL --- The nonprofit Coalition for a Better Acre is teaming with a property management company to buy and develop the former Franco American School into mixed-income housing, with an additional agreement that it will develop the site while protecting the character of the buildings and grounds in perpetuity.

AMHERST --- Looking to provide Amherst's homeless population with the next step on the ladder toward housing stability, the nonprofit Valley CDC is beginning to look at sites that could be developed into single-room occupancy apartments for extremely low-income individuals. Valley CDC has received support for the work to find a site that can accommodate 16 to 40 studio-style apartments with $50,703 from a Community Development Block Grant provided by Amherst. Valley CDC already operates four SRO facilities totaling 53 apartments in Florence and Northampton.

BOSTON --- A legislative hearing on a zoning reform bill that would encourage denser housing and preserve open space attracted a range of testimony this week, with experts testifying on the need for multifamily housing, advocates decrying current local zoning as tantamount to having "gated communities" and developers warning that increased regulation would threaten their ability to finance projects.

CAMBRIDGE --- Following similar public-private partnerships between developers and transit at Boston Landing in Brighton and the Assembly Square Orange Line Station in Boston, Boston Properties has apparently agreed with the City of Cambridge and the state to set aside $6 million for transit improvements as part of deal that would lead to approvals for one million square feet of housing and office space in Kendall Square.

DORCHESTER --- Building more for affordability, the challenge of growth, and the economic difficulty of living in an expensive city were some of the broader topics discussed during a panel discussion about the impacts of development in Dorchester. Sponsored by the St. Mark's Civic Association, the event was moderated by Tom Callahan of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. Panelists included Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, Tim Reardon of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Jim Keefe of Trinity Financial and Jim Greely and Cecelia Nardi of the Boston Planning and Development Agency.