Housing Headlines

NEWTON --- A five-story, 50-unit mixed-use addition is proposed to the back of the former Santander Bank building on Washington Street. Listed on the National Register of Historic places, the building would be preserved and renovated as a restaurant with outdoor seating. Mark Development, which has several project proposals in Newton, is required to have nine of the units designated as affordable housing.

WELLFLEET --- At a special town meeting, Wellfleet voters approved spending $6.5 million to buy Maurice’s Campground, a 21.3 acre property the town hopes to use for affordable housing. The town plans to use $675,000 in Community Preservation Act money to place a deed restriction on the property, if voters approve it at the Sept. 20 town election. Only 2.5 percent of Wellfleet’s housing is deemed affordable.

METROWEST --- The average rental cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Boston is $1,980, pushing renters out toward MetroWest, where they can find more affordable apartments for $1,500 a month or less. Communities include Framingham, Downtown Natick, Natick Village, Route 20, Marlborough and Downtown Franklin.

YARMOUTH PORT --- Habitat for Humanity Cape Cod announced it surpassed its $75,000 fundraising goal to support the use of solar energy in Habitat houses, raising $242,404 in funds. The money will support the group’s work of adding more alternative energy sources in Habitat homes, allowing homes to be net zero, meaning the houses potentially produce as much energy as they consume.

AMHERST --- A rundown former repair garage and trucking terminal is on its way to being redeveloped into 30 market-rate and affordable condominiums thanks to a $1.25 million loan from the state's Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC). The loan is going to the nonprofit Valley Community Development, which plans to make two-thirds of the homes affordable to low- and moderate-income homebuyers.

DORCHESTER --- The developers of the Olmsted Green development on the old Boston State Hospital along Harvard Street in Mattapan will soon file plans for an intergenerational affordable housing community: six new buildings with 265 apartments and condos - including one building that would have 20 apartments for families with foster or adopted kids and 40 apartments for seniors who would agree to provide support. Plans also include a shuttle bus to and from the Forest Hills MBTA station.