Housing Headlines

MARION --- By an overwhelming majority, voters at a special town meeting last month approved three warrant articles leading to the expansion of the town's elderly housing complex at Little Neck Village. With the articles approved, the project will now be able to seek low income housing tax credit financing from the state. Marion will use community preservation funds to help finance the expansion.

WAYLAND --- The Board of Selectmen is hoping to decide on a developer for an affordable housing project at the former Nike site by the end of November. The town has outlined detailed specifications for a 40B housing project and they have formed a committee to find the right developer for the job. The town has already used state grant money for preliminary plans and will use more of the grant money to help choose their developer.

LOWELL --- The plan to turn a former ironworks into 32 affordable units has stalled due to the slumping housing market, a city official said recently. In 2006, the city seized the land and paid the owner of Soucy Ironworks $1.5 million to move his business out of the city. Since then, little progress has been made. "We will keep on doing pre-development work and put out feelers to developers, but given the real-estate market things are slow," said Anne Barton, deputy director of the city's Division of Planning and Development. "It is all still on the table. Having housing on that site would create a good little neighborhood."

BROCKTON --- Less than a year after developing and selling its first four affordable homes, the Brockton Interfaith Council has announced plans to build four more duplexes that will provide eight affordable homeownership opportunities for low and moderate-income homebuyers. Each of the duplexes will feature a two-bedroom condo for $147,000 and three-bedroom condo for $157,000. The homes will be available to people living or working in Brockton with a maximum income of $48,650 to $70,550, depending on family size. For more information, call 508-583-6464.

BELMONT --- The Waverly Woods development is having trouble finding residents who qualify for some of its 40 affordable rental units, 28 of which are set aside for local residents. Residents for the local units must currently live in the town, work in the town more than 30 hours a week, or have attended school in town within the past 15 years.

CHICOPEE --- Begun in March of 2007, the city is wrapping up the planning phase in the creation of a smart-growth zoning district (40R) downtown. The city applied for a $75,000 gateway-plus grant from the state on Wednesday to turn their plans into projects for this walkable village-style environment. In return for establishing a smart-growth zoning district, the city will be rewarded by the state for each housing unit created.