Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- The Boston Housing Authority has selected Corcoran Jennison and the national developer SunCal to undertake a nearly $1 billion remake of the city's largest public housing development, according to a source. BHA officials have said their plan is to use the strong real estate market to replace its aging buildings and finance new housing for some of the poorest residents while offering up the authority's large tracts of land for market-rate development Corcoran-SunCal's proposalis to replace the current 1,100 very-low-income apartments in 41 buildings with 960 units at comparably low rents.

WHATLEY --- While voters at fall town meeting will be asked to focus on whether to spend $75,000 to stabilize the banks of the Mill River, the small town of Whatley - population 1,500, located northwest of UMass-Amherst - they will also be asked to vote on whether to rescind $58,000 in CPA funds that was supposed to be used to buy land for affordable housing. The land was bought by a private entity before the town could make its offer.

BILLERICA --- Another affordable-housing project in a single-family residential neighborhood is not ideal, but the 179-unit Alpine Village Local Initiative Project (LIP) proposal in North Billerica is countless times better because developer Ray Cormier is working with the town and has offered more than $1 million in mitigation, selectmen told about 50 abutters on Monday.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD --- The Island Housing Trust (IHT) has announced it has combined forces with the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank to purchase a 15-acre parcel off State Road in Tisbury for $1.2 million. The two agencies plan to create 11 duplexes for the year-round workforce while also preserving open space.

BOSTON --- With properties like the Flower Exchange and Widett Circle being eyeballed for development, some are worried that the Hub's appetite for new housing is chewing into its dwindling supply of industrially-zoned land and employers may have to move elsewhere if they want to expand, reports Tim Logan.

AMHERST --- Amherst Town Manager John Musante, whose town was recognized by MHP for its outstanding work in affordable housing, passed away suddenly over the weekend. He was 53.