Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- East Boston's Neighborhood of Affordable Housing recently closed on over $26 million in financing that will allow for the construction of Coppersmith Village, a 71-unit mixed income development that will feature 56 apartments and 15 for-sale townhouses on the former site of an ironworks company. Thirty-four of the 56 apartments will be affordable and three of the townhouses will be sold to households at or below 80 percent of area median income.

Increasingly, MetroWest towns are looking for ways to bring life back to downtowns and that often includes housing that attracts millennials and seniors seeking walkable neighborhoods. This is especially true in Natick and Framingham, where the Worcester-Boston commuter rail has stops.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD --- About 25 residents attended a third and final housing production plan workshop recently and provided input on possible strategies to boost the island's supply of affordable housing. Among the ideas gaining traction are zoning changes to allow for increased density, cost sharing among towns, creation of a “housing bank,” taxing seasonal rentals, increasing Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds for housing, building dormitories for seasonal workers, and seeking state subsidies for enhanced wastewater treatment systems.

FALMOUTH --- The Zoning Board of Appeals continued to hear input on a Ch. 40B proposal by The Falmouth Housing Corp. and Affirmative Investments to build 40 units of affordable housing on 11 acres that the town purchased with $3 million in CPA funds in 2010.

FRAMINGHAM --- After changing zoning rules to encourage downtown development, voters at a special Town Meeting next month will be asked to vote on more than $9.1 million in tax breaks for two major housing projects - Mill Creek Residential's 270-unit proposal for 266 Waverly St. (called Modera) and Wood Partners' 197-unit plan for 75 Concord St.

BEVERLY --- The Beverly City Council is considering creating an affordable housing trust fund that would help pay for new housing projects as they come up, or with renovations to existing ones. "We have a sum of money that's been paid to the city, but it's time to put that into a specific and decided fund," said Mayor Michael Cahill, who backs the idea. The fund would have five trustees, including the mayor.