Housing Headlines

WORCESTER --- City reporter Nick Kotsopoulos writes about the City Council taking a look at how Airbnb and other home businesses are slowly changing the fabric of Worcester's residential neighborhoods.

CHELSEA --- The Baker Administration said today it will give $300,000 apiece to housing authorities in Chelsea and Somerville for design and planning work to help convert aging public housing complexes into larger mixed-income communities, with the help of private developers.

WINCHESTER --- While acknowledging that the town's housing partnership may have violated some open meeting law procedures, selectmen defended the partnership's role as an advisory body to the town and concluded it is not surprising that the partnership has come out in favor of the 296-unit Forest Ridge Ch. 40B project proposed for the Winchester-Stoneham line.

LYNN --- The developer who plans to turn a long-vacant 14-acre Lynnway waterfront car dealership into an $80 million community with 348 apartments says it will meet with the New Lynn Coalition about their call for more affordable units and union labor, even though the developer says the city has indicated it prefers the project to be market rate.

WORCESTER --- The idea of eliminating an estimated 70 homeless camps around the city by creating a sanctioned homeless camp with toilets, some medical services and a police presence met a quick demise this week as City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said the city does not plan to establish one and that the idea came from creative thinking about to do about a serious issue in the city.

STONEHAM --- A state housing finance agency recently extended until the end of September the deadline for local officials and citizens to outline any objections they have with a proposed 296-unit housing development in Winchester by I-93.