Housing Headlines

HYANNIS — Six properties in Barnstable – including a former school in Marstons Mills and land across Route 132 from the police station – are being considered as potential new locations for the homeless shelter currently located in downtown Hyannis.

BOSTON --- The demolition of the once-popular Applebee's Restaurant next to the Circle Cinema in Cleveland Circle has begun, signaling the beginning of construction on the restaurant and theatre site of a 162-room hotel and 92 age-restricted apartments by Boston Development Group and National Development.

CHELSEA --- Fairfield Residential has reportedly purchased parcels in Chelsea for $45.7 million and is planning a two-phased residential development. The sites are located on either side of Vale St. near the high school. A nationwide developer, Fairfield owns Baker Chocolate Factory in Dorchester and Carson Tower Apartments in So. Boston.

HAVERHILL --- A recent agreement to allow a developer to pay $57,000 into a fund rather than sell two homes at below-market rates is being hailed as the beginning of a push to get more developers to contribute into a fund the city will use to create more affordable housing.

WORCESTER --- Scudder Bay Capital, a company that bought and rehabbed 250 one- to four-bedroom properties in Massachusetts and Rhode Island during the foreclosure crisis, is hoping to sell all of its portfolio "in one fell swoop," according to Scudder CEO Bryan S. Ganz. According to the Worcester Telegram, Scudder owns 36 properties in Worcester and also has properties in Webster, Fitchburg, Gardner, Attleboro, Taunton, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn and Springfield.

BOSTON --- The City of Boston will announce today a series of pilot programs designed to increase rental and homeownership opportunities in the city. The initiatives are being generated by the city's Housing Innovation Lab, a short-term project funded by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.