Housing Headlines

SALISBURY --- The town's zoning board of appeals has taken two big steps to increase affordable housing, giving the green light to the construction of up to 42 units of affordable housing on two town-owned sites - the former Spalding School on Main St. and a cleaned-up brownfield at 29 elm St.

DORCHESTER --- Rhode Island based Peregrine Group is partnering with St. Marks Area Main Street to buy the Codman Square Health Center at 1943 Dorchester Avenue and replace it with a five-story, 64-unit apartment building that will include eight affordable units and 2,200 square feet of ground floor commercial space that the health center would have an option to lease.

HYANNIS --- The group seeking to replace the NOAH Shelter for homeless people with a smaller “transitional” center has identified several possible sites for the project, but each one has drawbacks. The group envisions its “Transitional Living Center of Cape Cod” as a shelter with 35 beds – 20 fewer than the NOAH Shelter has – and a day program that could accommodate 64 people. Organizer Deb Krau said a big piece of the operation would be a commercial kitchen that would provide job training for clients, who would be involved in preparing three meals a day and keeping the facility clean.

SOMERVILLE --- While residents have proposed requiring 20 percent of all new residential development in the city to be affordable housing, the city's planning board is only recommending that percentage for large projects, retaining previous standards for smaller ones. The planning staff’s recommendations includes requiring 20 percent of developments with 20 or more residential units to be affordable and 15 percent of projects between seven and 19 units to be affordable. Developments with six or less units would be exempt from the inclusionary zoning requirement, except for projects with three and six units in some residential districts, which would have a 12.5 percent threshold.

MANSFIELD --- Developers are seeking a special permit from the town so it move forward with its $35 million plan to transform the former Archer Daniels Midland chocolate plant on Oakland Street into a mixed-use development with 130 apartments,19 of them affordable.

WAREHAM --- Approximately 75 low-income people who have been living in Wareham motels could be displaced as of May 22 when the town's new board of health policies will require motels who rent to long-term tenants to upgrade their facilities with dining quarters and upgraded sprinkler systems. As of now, only one of the five motels in town that does long-term rents has complied with the town's new health bylaws.