Housing Headlines

YARMOUTH --- The town's bylaw that encourages the redevelopment of underutilized motels into affordable housing is at work again, as the oldest motel in Yarmouth is about to be demolished to make way for 40 apartments on Route 28. Cambridge-based Commonwealth Community Partners bought the property for $800,000 and is expected to demolish the property soon and begin construction in late November, according to Jim Perrine, president of Commonwealth.

SOMERVILLE --- Efforts to rehabilitate state public housing by allowing new mixed-income housing along side it took a step forward recently as the Somerville Zoning Board of Appeals granted a comprehensive permit to allow the redevelopment of Clarendon Hill public housing. The proposal calls for Preservation of Affordable Housing and Gate Residential to co-develop the site, rebuilding 216 affordable apartments and adding 80 units of work force housing and 295 market rate apartments.

For Shelter Force, longtime Boston-based affordable housing lawyer David Abromowitz of Goulston & Storrs and Andrew Jakabovics of Enterprise Community Partners co-author a piece that quantifies the scope of the impending foreclosure crisis and calls for quick government response that would include extending income benefits to unemployed Americans, rent subsidies and neighborhood stabilization funds that would help nonprofits compete with cash-rich buyers to acquire and manage rental housing.

NEWTON --- As Greater Boston faces a housing crisis, Newton is debating whether to rewrite its zoning rules to allow more multifamily housing and move toward correcting the legacy of income inequality and racial segregation that critics say 20th-century single-family zoning left behind.

LYNN --- Attorney General Maura Healy is investigating a Lynn landlord after several reports of threats and abuse by tenants, including an accusation that the landlord threatened to have one resident deported after the resident complained about conditions at the property.

FALMOUTH --- Creating diversity, housing for people of a certain area median income and also units for people with disabilities are top priorities of the town's affordable housing trust. Town officials say the updated priorities reflect the community's desire to encourage "residency of diverse populations and gives equal access to housing opportunities."