Housing Headlines

HARVARD --- Town meeting voters in Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley have approved a zoning change for nearly 33 acres in the sprawling Devens complex that would allow commercial and industrial projects on a site that had been zoned for residential development. While the property lies totally within Harvard, state law requires that all three towns within the former Fort Devens footprint sign off on all zoning changes.

BOSTON --- At least two major developers are exploring the idea of reviving Columbus Center, the 10-acre megaproject from the 2000s to cover the highway between the Back Bay and the South End. These developers have separately approached the Massachusetts Department of Transportation about Columbus Center, a state official said Monday and an official from Trinity Financial confirmed it is one of the firms taking a second look.

WINCHESTER --- With Winchester, Stoneham, Reading and other towns dealing with a spate of 40B applications, Sen. Jason Lewis and other lawmakers are discussing reforms that would encourage more appropriately-sized developments near downtown rather than larger projects in neighborhoods.

MARSHFIELD --- The town's Zoning Board of Appeals has opened hearings on a 40-unit 40B for Ferry Street, with ZBA Chairman Joe Kelleher setting the ground rules and calling for dignity: "I know 40Bs can be emotional, but when we do have public comment, I insist everyone treats each other with dignity," he said. "We will allow everyone to speak and speak their minds and we will listen to you."

HYANNIS --- A unanimous vote by the Housing Assistance Corporation’s board of directors has sealed a plan for the nonprofit to turn over operations of the NOAH homeless shelter in Hyannis to Catholic Social Services, which will allow HAC to focus on its primary mission of developing affordable housing.

BOSTON --- With estimates that 200 to 300 residents are displaced from their home each month, the City of Boston is trying to get its new Office of Housing Stability up and running under Deputy Director Lydia Edwards, who says displacement can happen for a wide range of reasons and she does not want "people to confuse (the office) with being anti-gentrification, or anti-development, or anti-landlord or anything else.”