Housing Headlines

Worcester could raise more than $3.7 million in fiscal year 2023 for open space, recreation, housing and historic preservation if residents opt in to the Community Preservation Act this fall, according to a new report by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau. Enacting the CPA property tax surcharge would cost the median residential property owner $43.46 per year and the median commercial property owner $174.23. Worcester City Council voted in April to place the CPA on the November ballot for voters to decide on a 1.5% surcharge on both residential and commercial property taxes.

NORTHAMPTON --- Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra announced Northampton is working on affordable housing initiatives to help people who priced out of the market. The city is seeking bids to demolish the former Moose Lodge on Cooke Avenue for future housing development of up to four affordable housing units and recently transferred a surplus parcel on the western edge of the former Northampton State Hospital to Habitat for Humanity for three affordable housing units, and just completed upgrading the infrastructure on Laurel Street to accommodate the eventual development of 20 affordable housing units.

NEWTON --- Advocates from groups such as Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton (UCHAN), the Newton Coalition of Black Residents, and the Newton Housing Partnership said the city must do more to help residents who are struggling to remain in their homes. The push, intended to take advantage of the federal pandemic aid money, comes as the city has stepped up financial assistance to help families remain in their homes.

In communities across the state, tens of thousands of of people — teachers, firefighters, lab managers, engineers, nurses, and others — are leaving Massachusetts because they can't afford housing costs. Michael Goodman, a professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth says the state is facing a potential "brain drain." the single biggest reason companies gave for reducing their footprint in Massachusetts was the “cost of living. A Massachusetts Business Roundtable report notes that local companies are increasingly likely to hire out-of-state workers to work remotely because of their reluctance to come to Massachusetts.

BEVERLY --- Residents selected by lottery are beginning to move in to Anchor Point. Developed by Harborlight Homes, the new affordable housing building had 650 applicants for its 38 units. Residents were selected by lottery. According to the Salem News, some of the jobs held by residents include certified nursing assistant, school para-professional, postal worker, grocery store manager, administrative assistant, and Amazon and Uber drivers. Several families are moving in from homeless shelters. The majority of families are single-parent households, and some are multigenerational.

WESTBOROUGH --- The Westborough Affordable Housing Trust is exploring whether a five-acre site near the town's pickle ball courts can be developed into up to three units of affordable housing. The land, which is owned by the town, is currently zoned for single family and near a dead end street, which could be extended to bring utilities the site, officials said.