Housing Headlines

WORCESTER --- The Worcester housing market is recovering gradually from its 2011 low but the median price of a home in 2015 is still $55,000 less than it was in 2005, according to the Warren Group.

WALTHAM --- The effort to use $2.1 million in Community Preservation Act funds to create a rental assistance funds for lower-income residents cleared another hurdle recently when the city council voted 11-3 to override Mayor Jeannette McCarthy's veto. The mayor can still stop the plan by refusing to sign an agreement between the city and the housing authority that would have the housing authority administer the funds. The mayor's main issue is that people on the housing authority's waiting list, while eligible for assistance, will not receive preference.

EASTHAM --- After some opponents voiced concerns over what types of people would be moving into a proposed 115-unit affordable housing complex, Cape Cod Times reporter K.C. Myers followed up with short profiles of six people who live in affordable housing on the Outer Cape.

EASTHAM --- Stratford Capital Group's bid to turn a former Rt. 6 driving range into 115 units of housing took a major hit this week as the Eastham Affordable Housing Trust decided not to fund the developer's request for $800,000 in local funds raised through the town's Community Preservation Act.

WEYMOUTH --- Income thresholds for public housing applicants are set at a level that excludes some disabled veterans, lawmakers and veterans said recently as they discussed a bill seeking address that issue.

WILLIAMSTOWN --- One of the sites that was first identified as a possible place for affordable housing that would replace mobile home park housing lost during Tropical Storm Irene may be in danger of flooding itself as residents say the former PhoTech Mill industrial site was in the river when the Hoosic River overflowed in 2011. Berkshire Housing Development Corp. is hoping to redevelop the mill building and land into 46 affordable apartments.