Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- The Boston Redevelopment Authority recently approved the relocation of the Charlesview affordable housing complex in Allston. Community Builders Inc. developers plan to construct a new complex of 240 rental apartments and 100 condominium units at the former Brighton Mills shopping plaza on Western Avenue and on another parcel on Telford Street. The Charlesview complex is currently located near Harvard Stadium and at more than 40 years old is "near the end of its useful life," according to the BRA.

WEYMOUTH ---Beacon Communities LLC recently purchased a 90-unit rental complex on King Avenue and has committed to preserving two-thirds of the units as affordable apartments for residents earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). Additionally, the city contributed $250,000 towards keeping the 65 rental units affordable.

BERLIN --- Town meeting voters recently approved articles that will allow the creation of a mixed-use village on a 114-acre site near the Solomon Pond Mall. The village will include a cluster of residential and commercial properties, including townhouses, apartments, a pharmacy, a village market, office space, retail space and an assisted living community. A total of 205 residential units are proposed in the village plan. To read more about this plan, visit the Town of Berlin's website at http://townofberlin.com/

HAVERHILL --- The Planning Office for Urban Affairs recently announced that the Charles Hayes Building redevelopment on Granite Street is set to be ready for occupancy by the end of the summer. The development will include 57 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments, 33 of which will be reserved for low- and moderate-income tenants. In addition, within five years 24 of the 57 rental units will be converted to condominiums with 19 units reserved for moderate-income buyers. MHP has provided a permanent first mortgage of $1.9 million to aid in the redevelopment of this complex.

BOSTON --- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston recently allocated $3 million through its Affordable Housing Program to be used for the financing of 79 units of affordable rental and homebuyer units in Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont. In Massachusetts, the FHLB committed over $1.9 million in grants or subsidy to help over create over 60 units of housing for households earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income.

BOSTON --- The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) board recently approved Urbanica Design and Development's proposal to build forty homebuyer units in the South End. The five-story Urbanica 691 project will consist of 38 market-rate homebuyer units, two affordable homebuyer units, and 30 parking spaces. The project must win approval from the city's ZBA in December before construction can begin.