Housing Headlines

WALTHAM (originally published on May 22) --- To help the city meet the requirement of spending at least 10 percent of its collected Community Preservation Act funds on housing, a local nonprofit, the housing authority and the Community Preservation Committee have proposed a three-year, $3.2 million program that would provide rental assistance to low-income residents. City officials like the idea but have expressed concern that it is too big and too costly.

SOMERVILLE --- Single mom Martine Dreux's ongoing search for affordable housing illustrates how hard it is to find affordable housing in Somerville and why the city officials have proposed creating a centralized waiting list that they could refer to whenever an affordable unit of any type becomes available.

BOSTON --- While affordable housing advocates maintain that state statute Ch. 40B is an important tool in developing multifamily housing in places where zoning doesn't allow it, Mass. Municipal Association Executive Director Geoff Beckwith says the law renders communities powerless because "developers hold all the cards" and "they are never overruled by the state and essentially call all the shots."

CHELSEA --- Having successfully transformed a former industrial site into a new neighborhood called the Box District, The Neighborhood Developers of Chelsea have run into stiff opposition over its plan to turn a former social club it has purchased into 60 units of affordable apartments. Reportedly, hundreds of residents in the neighborhood known as Mill Hill have signed a petition saying there is too much affordable housing in Chelsea already while others say more homeownership developments are needed.

BOSTON --- The development near Boston Garden that garnered a lot of attention for its inclusion of work force and affordable housing has asked the Boston Redevelopment Authority for tax breaks n its plan to develop 239 apartments, a 220-room hotel, 10,000 square feet of retail space and a parking garage.

MARLBOROUGH --- The City Council has referred to the Urban Affairs Committee a request by developers to pay the city $450,000 instead of marketing nine townhouse units as affordable, which is required under the city's inclusionary zoning law that 15 percent of the units be affordable for developments of more than 20 units.