Housing Headlines

LAKEVILLE --- Citing changes in the real estate market due in part to the pandemic, local developer Rober Poillucci has asked selectmen to allow him to switch from building condominiums to rental units in the smart growth district next to the town's MBTA commuter rail station. The 110-project - OK'd in 2018 - was scheduled to be built in three phases and Poillucci is asking that he be allowed to build 31 rental units in one of the phases.

MEDFORD --- Medford is rekindling its interest in forming a local affordable housing trust as one of the state's leading trust experts spoke to the city council recently about the benefits of forming a trust. The Massachusetts Housing Partnership's Shelly Goehring spoke to the council about how to set up and run an effective affordable housing trust, an idea that was first brought up in January by John Falco, president of the city council.

AMHERST --- After 18 months and 10 meetings totaling nearly 30 hours, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a Ch. 40B comprehensive land use permit to allow the Valley Community Development Corporation to construct 28 single-room apartments for the very low income and homeless. The board granted the permit with 89 conditions and is also asking that 70 percent of the units be set aside for local residents, a condition that must be OK'd by the state.

SALEM --- After over a year of meetings, the Salem Redevelopment Authority voted to select WinnCompanies to redevelop the 158-year old historic courthouse, an older county building and an adjacent city-owned parking lot into a mixed-use project with 129 housing units, 19 in the historic buildings and 110 in an eight-story mixed-use building on the parking lot site.

SUNDERLAND --- With state and local funding secured, Rural Development Inc. (RDI) is expecting to begin construction on transforming 120 Main St. into 33 units of affordable rental housing for seniors by the spring, according to Gina Govoni, executive director of the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority, which oversees RDI. The project will be funded primarily with federal and state low-income housing tax credits. The Town of Sunderland is contributing $100,000 in local funds.

WEYMOUTH --- A few months after turning down proposals from two private developers to rebuild the Lakeview Manor public housing, town officials are ready to put out another request for proposals. Earlier this year, a committee of town and housing authority officials turned down proposals from John M. Corcoran Companies and a joint plan submitted by WinnDevelopment in collaboration with Neighborworks Housing Solutions and Arch Communities LLC.