Housing Headlines

BURLINGTON --- Responding to signals from the town that it is interested in a friendly 40B to increase affordable housing and keep the town's supply above 10 percent, the Davis Companies is seeking an amendment to its Corporate Drive office park zoning agreement so it can build 300 units of housing rather than a fifth office building. However, residents in attendance at a planning board meeting indicated they'd prefer an office building because it would have less impact on traffic.

TRURO --- In its ongoing effort to increase its supply of year-round affordable housing, Truro has up to six Habitat for Humanity homes in the works on two Rt. 6 sites but three are on hold while an abutter takes the town to court saying that the zoning board did not issue proper notifications about plans to develop a property at 181 Rt. 6. If these homes are built, Truro's total of affordable housing will have jumped from 1 to 3 percent in four years. Seventy percent of the homes in town are second homes and the median sales price is $610,000, far out of reach of most local families.

WORCESTER --- By a unanimous vote, commissioners of the housing authority named Alex Corrales to succeed Ray Mariano as executive director when Mariano retires next summer. Corrales, 41, grew up in Worcester public housing, attended city schools and graduated from Syracuse University. Aside from a stint in Springfield, Corrales has worked for the WHA for 18 years and has served as Mariano's assistant executive director.

NEW BEDFORD --- After a federal audit of 15 public housing authorities revealed that 100 residents living in the city's public housing are over income, the executive director of the New Bedford Housing Authority said kicking people out for making more money after they've qualified for public housing will take away the incentive of trying, although he did indicate families who are well over the income limits should be moved so that more deserving families on the waiting list can be helped.

CAMBRIDGE --- San Francisco-based DivcoWest continued its recent Boston buying spree, paying a rumored $300 million for 42 acres near the Museum of Science. The land, previously co-owned by former Laker Magic Johnson, is expected to be developed into 3,000 apartments, office buildings and lab space. Divco has bought four office buildings in Boston and Kendall Square since 2013.

GLOUCESTER --- A proposal by St. John's Episcopal Church to build 30 apartments in its parking lot is already hitting a snag as the city's Community Preservation Committee is recommending to give the church only $5,000 toward a feasibility study, $10,000 less than the church was asking for.