Housing Headlines

WORCESTER --- Bolstered by $15 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the city's new affordable housing trust is funding a program in which developers can apply for up to $150,000 per unit if it is used to create new affordable housing units in new or existing housing.

WATERTOWN --- In an effort to preserve and create more affordable housing, Watertown has established an affordable housing trust fund. The trust is starting off with $750,000 in federal funds and other sources. According to a recent report,more than one-third of Watertown renters are cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing. Another 28 percent of homeowners were also cost-burdened.

HINGHAM -- A duplex off Route 3A will soon be added to the town's affordable housing inventory. Hingham Affordable Housing Trust bought the property in 2019 for $524,000 and will sell it to families as two units for $220,000 each with a $200 monthly condominium fee. Units are 965 and 985 square feet.

BOSTON -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to streamline the timeline on affordable housing projects by signing an executive order with an objective to retool the zoning code to slice the time to approve such projects in half. Wu announced the order during remarks at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Government Affairs Forum.”

MATTAPAN -- A California developer has filed plans to replace a vacant lot at 1471 Blue Hill Ave. in Mattapan with an energy-efficient, five-story, 48-unit affordable apartment building. All the studios, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units would be rented to people making between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income, including people with Section 8 vouchers.

BOSTON --- City planners have released a study that proposes to turn Mattapan into a “10-minute neighborhood” by allowing the construction of up to 2,400 additional homes, a more diverse mix of retail and installing and street improvements that will make it safer for pedestrians. The goal is to transform Mattapan - a majority Black/African neighborhood - into a place where people are within a 10-minute walk of amenities and improve the lives of residents, who have the longest commutes of any neighborhood in the city.