Housing Headlines

A new report commissioned by the Boston Foundation has found that Massachusetts has experienced one of the highest increases in family homelessness in the U.S. and that it is one of just two states where more than half of of the homeless population is comprised of families.

NEWTON --- Facing stiff resident opposition and needing 75 percent approval from the Newton City Council, the developer of Washington Place has indicated he will instead seek a building permit via the state's affordable housing law, which he can do because less than 10 percent of city's housing supply is considered affordable. The decision to seek a Ch. 40B permit allows the developer to bypass city reviews. The developer said the new plan would be slightly larger and taller than the original 160-unit proposal.

BOSTON --- The Boston Housing Authority is seeking proposals from private developers to tear down 232 of the 804 units at the former Bromley-Heath public housing complex and replace it with the same amount of affordable units plus new units that would be rented at the prevailing market rate. The BHA hopes to eventually redo the entire complex - now called Mildred C. Hailey Apartments - as it is doing at Bunker Hill public housing in Charlestown and hopes to do at Mary Ellen McCormack in South Boston.

BOSTON --- In light of recent protests and community meetings over rising housing costs, a Bay State Banner review of recent one-bedroom rents in Roxbury zip code 02119 during a six-month period shows that a person making the region's average monthly income is likely using 50 percent of it to pay the rent.

FALL RIVER --- The owners of the Swansea Mall are planning to apply to the town for a Ch. 40B comprehensive permit so they can build 221 rental apartments. The mall has been struggling of late, with Sears announcing it is closing in April and the owners twice holding auctions to sell the mall.. Town officials expressed caution, wishing that the new plan was part of a larger strategy to revive commercial activity at the site.

QUINCY – Developers have scrapped the idea of building a seven-story hotel in the 1500 block of Hancock Street in Quincy Center in favor of constructing an apartment building there of the same size. LBC Partners of Boston presented to Quincy's city council on Tuesday night a plan to build 171 apartments over 15,000 square feet of commercial space at 1500 Hancock St., which the organization already owns. The building will also feature an atrium and one city official said the building could be the "centerpiece" of the downtown area.