Housing Headlines

LAWRENCE --- Winn Development, a Boston-based firm that was ready to start building new condominiums at Malden Mills, has been forced to walk away because the new owners, Chrysalis Capital Partners, want to redevelop the mill property with their own real estate division.

FALL RIVER --- The state has endorsed eliminating public housing at Watuppa Heights and demolishing the 100-unit, approximately half-occupied complex after the state and city agreed that affordable housing rather than public housing would replace the aging units.

NORWOOD --- By rezoning an area in downtown Norwood into a smart growth district, town officials were able to work with a developer to convert a church into 15 affordable units that are now near completion.

NORTH ANDOVER --- The smart growth 40R development known as Osgood Landing recently received a $600,000 grant from the state. The town's rezoning of the former Lucent Technologies site will allow AvalonBay to turn the property into a mixed-use development that will include 530 housing units, with 20 to 25 percent of them affordable.

PLYMOUTH --- Saying they want the town's largest residential developer to provide affordable housing, town meeting members rejected adding 69 more acres to the Pinehills, a high-end planned community that has already sold 1,200 units and built 100,000 square feet of retail space.

GROTON --- Residents at town meeting voted to create a zoning overlay district that will transform the Town Hall neighborhood into a hub of commercial and recreational activities with affordable housing.