Housing Headlines

HARVARD --- The town-appointed team responsible for vetting development proposals for nearby Fort Devens is probing Trinity Financial's proposal to build 246 mixed-income rental units on land previously zoned for commercial use. Trinity has proposed that four out of every five units will serve households making less than 60 percent of area median income and the town's analysis team is trying to figure out who might qualify for those units.

BOSTON --- AvalonBay Communities Inc. recently proposed the new construction of a 404-unit apartment tower downtown. The 29-story tower would contain studio and one- and two-bedroom apartments with 15 percent of the units designated as affordable. A community meeting is planned for next month to provide more details about the development to neighbors.

LOWELL --- The Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA) non-profit developers recently received a $234,000 federal grant to improve the Carriage Place Apartments on Middlesex Street. The grant will help the developers make green energy, structural, and cosmetic improvements to the four-story, 24 unit affordable rental complex. CBA is one of 115 organizations to receive a total of $34.9 million to rehabilitate or finance the rehabilitation of affordable housing projects nationwide.

GROTON --- The developer of a proposed mixed-use project at the site of the former Groton Trading Post recently submitted an official plan for residents to review. The Boynton Meadows at Gibbet Hill project will create 18 condo/townhouse units and commercial spaces, including a restaurant. The town negotiated a deal to provide the developer with $412,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding as its investment in exchange for the designation of three of the 18 condo/townhouse units as affordable and a return on the town's investment.

CHINATOWN --- Developers plan to break ground next month on a $33 million affordable housing development replacing four parcels on Essex Street. The seven-floor, 100,000 square foot building will contain 74 new apartments for low-income elderly residents.

In his blog, Mike Goodman of UMass Dartmouth summarizes his response to questions by industry leaders about what policy changes would have the greatest impact on growing jobs in Massachusetts.