Housing Headlines

SOMERVILL E --- Somerville Community Corporation and state and local officials will celebrate the completion of an eight-unit affordable housing development on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m. The development site, located at 75 Cross Street, used to house an abandoned, half-built structure before the non-profit developer purchased it in 2010. The project received financing from a private mortgage, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston's Affordable Housing Program, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Charlesbank Homes Foundation, Franklin Square House Foundation, and city, state, and federal subsidies.

WOBURN --- In a fight that is now more than 10 years old, the city's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) has denied a revised Ch. 40B comprehensive permit application by the Woburn-based Dolben Company to build 168 apartments near the Wilmington line.

EASTON --- Already known for using its Community Preservation Act funds to help support multi-family affordable rental housng developments like the Ames Shovel project, the Easton Affordable Housing Trust recently helped a single mother of three buy a home through its new Homebuyer Assistance Program.

ACTON --- Selectmen have given their support to Charing Cross Realty Trust's application for a Ch. 40B permit to build 12 single-family homes on a 3.6 acre site across from the town's post office. To move forward, the developers must now get approval from the town's zoning board of appeals.

DUXBURY --- Six years after gaining initial approval, the controversial Webster Point Village can begin construction following an agreement betweent the developer and the local zoning board of appeals. Back in 2006, the ZBA granted Delphic Associates a Ch. 40B comprehensive permit to build 40 single-family homes (10 affordable) on the Duxbury-Marshfield line. One year later, the ZBA denied the developer's request for an extension on the construction deadline, sending the matter to court. Early legal decisions went in favor of the developer, causing the ZBA to pursue appeals.

LOWELL -- Community Teamwork Inc. has denied a newspaper's request for a list of landlords with multiple Section 8 vouchers. CTI Executive Director Karen Frederick said her agency's overriding concern is that the publishing of landlord information could lead to disclosure of Section 8 tenant information. Frederick also wrote that CTI is not a public entity, so she does not believe it is subject to public-records laws. CTI receives and administers over 700 Section 8 vouchers for the state. The Lowell Sun has said it is not interested in tenant information.