Housing Headlines

SOUTHBOROUGH --- After two and a half years and one final six hour meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals has unanimously approved with 90 conditions a Ch. 40B permit that will allow Capital Group Properties' plan to build 180 apartments behind the Red Roof Inn near the juncture of Rtes. 9 and 495.

BROCKTON --- The city's crackdown on a 31-acre wooded site that the homeless have used for nearly 50 years expanded recently as the owner of the property - CSX Transportation - cut down many trees, making it easier for the city to clear any new encampments that may be established following a June sweep of the property.

BOSTON --- Boston developer Doug George is pitching plans to build a $12.5 million, 40-unit residential condo development on a section of Massachusetts Avenue in Dorchester that has been the home of a used-car dealership next to the new Dorchester Brewing Company.

BOSTON --- A series of state laws during the recession slowed foreclosure activity, but lenders are now gradually working through the backlog, a building activity that has seen foreclosure starts see year-over-year increases for 28 straight months dating back to 2013. Reporter Shira Schoenberg takes a look at the toll it is taking on families and what experts and advocates say about the situation.

WILLIAMSTOWN --- Based on feedback from the planning board, the Massachusetts Housing Partnership is outlining a scope of services that will guide two consulting firms it will hire to help the Town of Williamstown determine its housings needs and develop policies to meet those goals.

MEDFORD --- Mayor Stephanie Burke and other local officials gathered with Dark Horse Capital Partners to break ground on Sphere Luxury Apartments, a 42-unit apartment complex in Ball Square near one of the new transit stops planned for the proposed MBTA Green Line Extension. The $12 million project will include four affordable units.