Housing Headlines

AMHERST --- HAP and Valley Community Development Corporation will present plans for a 42-unit affordable housing complex at the Jones Library later this week. The units on Olympia Drive are intended to be affordable for residents who earn at or below 60 percent of the area median income, making rent for a one-bedroom unit around $750 per month with heat included. If the project is approved by the state, construction could begin by the spring of 2012 with units ready to be occupied by 2013.

DENNIS --- The Housing Assistance Corporation of Hyannis was recently awarded the contract to develop a 27-unit, 52-bedroom affordable housing complex on the former site of the Melpet Farm on Route 134. The complex will include eight New England-style buildings containing one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. The apartments will be available to residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income with a one-bedroom apartment renting for $650 per month and a two-bedroom apartment renting for $850 per month.

EAST BOSTON --- A Chelsea-based real estate developer recently announced plans to convert a former Catholic high school into 25 to 30 condominium units. The complex will consist of studios and one- and two-bedroom units with up to five units designated as affordable. If the project is approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the city's Inspectional Services Department, the developer predicts that the building could be ready for occupancy in the spring of 2012.

LEOMINSTER --- Twin Cities Community Development Corporation recently announced that construction is set to begin as soon as early spring on the conversion of a former paper-box factory into 40 units of affordable housing. The project is being paid for through a combination of federal funds, historic tax credits from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and local grants.

BOSTON --- The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) recently approved two new residential projects in two Boston neighborhoods. The 319 A Street project, in South Boston's Innovation District, will bring 184 new rental apartments to the area, 24 of which will be designated as affordable for residents below a certain income level. The project will also include the creation of 27 "innovation housing" units intended for individuals whose income is too high to qualify for formally restricted affordable housing units but who are often priced out of the housing market. The second approved project, 9-23 Griggs Street, will transform a former garage in Allston into 100 new residents units.

PAXTON --- Developers of the Muir Meadow housing development recently outlined their plans to the Board of Selectmen. The project is set to include 87 units on a 58-acre site off 203 Pleasant Street with a certain number of units set aside as affordable units.