Housing Headlines

MANCHESTER --- Facing the reality that one needs an annual income of at least $182,000 to afford a home in this upscale seaside community north of Boston, some in town are brainstorming on how they can use locally-collected Community Preservation Act funds to increase the supply of affordable housing.

GREENFIELD --- The executive director of the Greenfield Housing Authority says that the 13.2 million renovation of the 74-unit Oak Courts public housing development is near completion and that some of the units could go to homeless families living in Greenfield motels.

YARMOUTH --- Having appropriated $2 million in CPA funds to help fund the conversion of motels into affordable housing, Yarmouth has taken the first step by surveying motel owners who would be willing to sell their properties to the town. The town received one interested response from Oreste and Sheila Volpe, owners of Yarmouth Gardens.

ASHLAND --- In the second public meeting held to hash out a housing production plan, residents were shown data provided by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council estimating that the town will grow to 20,000 residents by 2030 and will need 1,110 single-family homes and 930 apartments to keep up with demand.

PROVINCETOWN --- Cape Cod Times reporter Lorelei Stevens takes an in-depth look at the continued loss of affordable year-round housing in Provincetown, as more and more homes and apartments are being lost to the second home market. Locals are being pushed out and town officials are saying it's a crisis, one calling it the beginning of the "Aspenization" of Cape Cod.

NEWTON --- The chairwoman of the city's Council on Aging draws from personal experience to express her support for more mixed-income apartments in Newton, specifically the proposal on Austin St. in the Newtonville business district, which is steps away from the MBTA.