Housing Headlines

FOXBORO --- The chair of the zoning board of appeals is urging the town and residents to continue discussions with The Hanover Company over its plans to use Ch. 40B to build a 248-unit apartment building, even though a lawyer representing the Texas-based company has said the company will not reduce the scope of its plans. ZBA Chairman J. Neil Forster says discussions should continue as an outright denail may put the town at risk of losing an appeal with the state.

SPRINGFIELD --- Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center recently began construction on a $2.8 million housing complex to provide permanent housing for 20 homeless veterans. With an expected completion date of December 2015, the organization will begin taking applications in November.

WASHINGTON --- Preliminary findings of HUD's Family Options Study found that 18 months after being randomly assigned to one of four interventions, families offered a housing voucher experienced significantly better outcomes than those families randomly assigned to any of the three other options.

PROVINCETOWN --- While town officials say a developer Chris Wise's redesign of a 24-unit 40B proposal is an indication of his willingness to work with the town, residents are saying the opposite and view the redesign as akin to putting a "Victorian shawl atop an elephant."

FRAMINGHAM --- Town officials are proposing a series of zoning changes that would allow multifamily developments in the downtown and other areas and allow a broader variety of uses in office parks. "Fundamentally we have a suburban zoning model that we're applying to what is essentially an urban area," said Arthur Robert, the town's economic development director. "We have to find ways to change that."

Falmouth --- The first affordable housing project in town is accepting lottery applications until July 15. The Notantico Woods project contains 11 one- and two-bedroom units with income guidelines based on the median income in Barnstable County. Lottery winner names will be drawn at Falmouth Town Hall on July 24 and residents are expected to move in starting September 1.