Housing Headlines

PEABODY --- Community Development Director Karen Sawyer's plan to increase the city's affordable housing stock by encouraging "friendly" 40B developments in designated areas like the downtown was greeted cooly some city council members, who instead suggested the city continue to try to get its large supply of mobile homes recognized as affordable.

READING --- Residents of Main St. and the Wood End area showed up in force at a recent selectmen's meeting to voice concerns over a rumored 60-unit 40B by an un-named contractor who reportedly has yet to file an application with the town. Resident concerns about the project included traffic, safety, crowded schools, vernal pools and fears that the project "will bring down the quality of life."

CONCORD --- Nearly 25 years after the Eagles' Don Henley and other local activists created the Walden Woods Project to stop a housing proposal near Walden Pond, the group has delivered on its promise to find suitable land elsewhere, announcing that the state would be transferring to the town a 12-acre parcel near the prison so that it can be developed into affordable housing.

WALPOLE --- Walpole officials say they are expecting to hear from Barberry Homes about their plans to apply to the town for a Ch. 40B comprehensive permit so they can build an undisclosed amount of rental housing on Moosehill Road. The Natick-based company has built houses in Westborough, Sudbury and Marlborough, and also built a Chapter 40R smart-growth apartment complex in Natick, which allows mixed use and denser housing.

AMHERST - The community is grappling with another example of the strong demand for rental housing as several families at the 24-unit Echo Village Apartments may lose their housing at the end of March because the new owner intends to raise the rents.

CHELMSFORD -- The town will build eight new housing units for veterans, and nearby Westford will create five, thanks to funding from both communities, the state Department of Housing and Community Development and other grants.