Housing Headlines

WATERTOWN --- With 600 apartments approved and 220 more units proposed for nearby Waltham Street, some town leaders are worried that they aren't seeing the balanced development they had hoped for three years ago when they created the Pleasant Street Corridor District, whch lies just north of and parallel to the Charles River near the Newton and Waltham lines.

HANOVER --- The town will send a letter to the Cardinal Cushing Centers voicing displeasure at being excluded from information about the sale of its 150-unit rental apartment building for low-income seniors to Evergreen Partners. The town is concerned about whether affordability will be preserved and felt it should have been told of the sale sooner since it granted the necessary zoning permits to allow the housing to be built back in 1981.

QUINCY --- For the second time in four years, the National Community Development Association (NCDA) has recognized the City of Quincy for outstanding work in affordable housing and neighborhood redevelopment. This time, the city is getting an award for supporting the rehabilitation of a church into five units of affordable housing for low-income and at-risk families.

BEVERLY --- Plans to revitalize Rantoul Street and the neighborhood near the commuter rail appear to be heating up again as a local developer has outlined plans to build more apartments. Windover Construction of nearby Manchester is proposing to build 45 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments on the former Kelly Infiniti car dealership lot. This would be Windover's third project in this area as it built the Depot Square condos in 2006 and is building 38 rental apartments onRantoul Street. Windover president Lee Dellicker said the rental apartments at both locations could eventually be sold as condos if the economy improves.

WESTFORD --- After a series of public meetings, the town's zoning board of appeals has granted Princeton Properties a comprehensive (40B) permit to build 200 rental apartments (40 affordable) near the Chelmsford line. Because the town OK'd the zoning change to allow multi-family rental housing, the state will count all 200 units toward Westford's subsidized inventory of affordable housing.

WILMINGTON --- Real estate development firm The Federated Companies recently purchased a 12-acre development site with plans to build a 40B mixed-income rental community. The project, called Legacy Park Wilmington, will consist of two, three-story garden buildings contain 108 units and an enclosed 35-space parking garage. Of the 108 units, 28 will be designated as affordable. Construction on the complex is set to begin in spring 2012 with pre-leasing expected to begin in 2013.