Housing Headlines

AMHERST --- A preliminary agreement between the owner of land in North Amherst's Mill District and Beacon Communities could lead to a ground-floor commercial, upstairs residential development on the site that currently hosts the Cowls Building Supply store and other structures.

BOSTON --- The ongoing debate over what to do with the downtown Hyannis homelesss shelter reached Beacon Hill this week as a group of Cape local leaders and legislators discussed the issue with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash and Chrystal Kornegay, the state's housing undersecretary.

WEST ROXBURY --- The Boston Zoning Board of Appeals rejected a plan to build 40 condominiums at a LaGrange St. industrial site amidst concerns about the size of the project and that it would be built partly with prefabricated materials put together by non-union, out-of-state labor.

BOSTON --- City Manager Richard Rossi has filed a proposal with the city council that would require developers to set aside 20 percent of new buildings as affordable units, up from an average of 11.5 percent that the city now requires.

BOSTON --- Michael Goodman of the Public Policy Center at UMass Dartmouth debates the proposed multifamily housing law with Mass Municipal Association's Geoff Beckwith on WBUR's Radio Boston, an afternoon public affairs show hosted by Meghna Chakrabati.

NEW BEDFORD --- A $7.2 million tax-exempt bond by MassDevelopment will be used to make repairs and preserve affordability at Verdean Gardens, a 110-unit mixed-income apartment building in the South End that features seven one-, 87 two-, 10 three- and six four-bedroom units for families.