Housing Headlines

MIDDLEBORO --- Concerns about health and safety are pushing town officials to take steps to enforce the occupancy permit for 28 seasonal homes at Woods Pond, where several residents are continuing to live past the vacation season, which ends Oct. 10. Town officials say the communal wells are not set up to be used year round and they are also concerned about fires burning to keep residents warm. It's unclear whether residents are staying due to a lack of housing or because they want to remain at the site through the fall.

MANCHESTER --- In preparation for negotiations with a developer on a 157-unit mixed-income rental project, the Manchester selectmen will be holding weekly virtual workshops to discuss the Ch. 40B land use permit process and strategies on how to shape the proposal submitted by Geoffrey Engler of Strategic Land Ventures, a Massachusetts-based development company.

WORCESTER --- Led by City Councilor Sarai Rivera, the City Council has called for a thorough examination of how the unique health and economic challenges caused by COVID-19 will impact the city's approach to homelessness. In a wide-ranging discussion, the council discussed adding more shelter space, how to deal with homelessness increases and health and safety concerns caused by apartment overcrowding due to loss of employment.

According to realtors and renters, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to put pressure on the Cape Cod rental market as urban workers from off Cape are seeking places where they can work remotely and second-home owners are using their homes rather than rent to Cape residents for the winter. This double whammy is driving up prices and putting more pressure on a market that was already short of year-round rental units.

BOSTON --- The recent agreement between Morton Village tenants and its new out-of-state owner to keep rents affordable is an exception rather than the rule in Boston, where two previous large affordable developments were sold to out-of-state buyers who were less willing to keep rents low. Reporter Morgan C. Mullings takes a look at all three deals and the roles City Life/Vida Urbana and the City of Boston play in trying to keep tenants in their homes.

HUDSON --- On a November Saturday in the high school parking lot, town meeting voters - some in winter hats - voted to transfer ownership of the former police station to the affordable housing trust so it can explore interest by developers to turn it into affordable housing that would keep Hudson's supply of affordable housing above 10 percent.