Housing Headlines

AMHERST --- Beacon Communities of Boston, which entered into an agreement with Amherst-based W.D. Cowls Inc. in March to construct mixed-use buildings, have informed residents in North Amherst's Mill District that they may file plans under the state’s Chapter 40B comprehensive permit in order to build 140 apartments, 20 to 25 percent of which will be affordable.

ASHLAND --- Selectmen have authorized a hydro-geological study of the town's Rail Transit District to assess the potential disturbances blasting could have on a culvert that runs through the property and an adjacent superfund cleanup site. The study was ordered after residents voiced concerns about developer Campanelli Thorndike's plans to do blasting and drilling as part of its plan to build 398 apartments near the commuter rail.

BOSTON ---City officials gathered with neighborhood residents on Wednesday, May 18, to rename Bromley Heath public housing the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments. Hailey was a longtime resident who, in the 1970s, helped set up and run a tenant management corporation to run the property and address crime, vandalism and neglect that had plagued it for years. She was a "force of nature" said Boston Housing Authority's William McGonagle in explaining why he asked the mayor to rename the property after Hailey.

LEOMINSTER --- The Days Inn Hotel in Leominster is one of 11 hotels in the state that will no longer house homeless families in what appears to be an effort by the state to gradually end the practice and connect homeless with rapid rehousing resources within the shelter system. (In light of news this week that rate of homeless staying in motels has dropped, this story has been re-posted. Originally posted on 1/5/16).

FALMOUTH --- With the homeless population rising, the Falmouth Housing Corporation's four-unit Bridgeport residence at 587 Gifford Street is shifting its focus back to being transitional housing for the homeless and away from having permanent residents. (Falmouth Enterprise).

BOSTON --- The number of homeless families living in hotels and motels at state expense — the last resort for Massachusetts’ most vulnerable residents — has dropped dramatically since Governor Charlie Baker took office promising to end the practice.