Housing Headlines

SALEM --- A 2019 zoning change to more easily allow religious and municipal buildings to be redeveloped into housing is paying dividends as a local nonprofit is proposing to turn two Catholic schools into 62 mixed-income apartments. The North Shore Community Development Corp. of Salem has announced a $25 million plan to turn the St. James School into 33 units of 55-and-over housing and the St. Mary's School into 29 apartments, with preferences given for people who work in the creative economy.

BOSTON --- A South End nonprofit which serves over 1,500 low-income residents with housing and services has quickly shifted is regular youth programs online, offering regular workshops a week on topics ranging from art, time management and managing social and emotional well-being. Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) Youth Coordinator Pedro Cruz says these workshops will culminate with a final project in which teens will present - on social media - photographs and poetry that express their COVID-19 experiences and hopes for the future.

SPRINGFIELD --- In partnership with Bay State Health, the City of Springfield will begin a COVID-19 testing program for the homeless on Wednesday, April 29 across the street from the Friends of the Homeless Shelter. Tents have been set up to do testing there since early April but officials said it hasn't been widespread due to a delay in the delivery of more testing kits, which they have now.

MEDFORD --- The Medford City Council has OK'd the use of $125,000 in local Community Preservation Act funds for emergency rental assistance for residents impacted by COVID-19. The sum, which will be administered by a Boston nonprofit, is half of what Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn had requested. Some council members hesitated over the possibility that the local funds might go to non-Medford residents because it's being administered by a regional nonprofit but since this story was written, the city has received guidance that it can be directed locally and that proof of address can be requested.

ARLINGTON --- To spark more housing for all incomes - especially along the town's transit corridors - planning officials are recommending changes that would allow developers to build more units on smaller lots if they agree to add affordable housing. The proposed bylaw was supposed to go before April's Town Meeting but that has been postponed until June 15 and will likely be a shortened and only address financial articles, according to a recent statement by the town moderator.

It's a small sample size of nine communities, but it's significant to note that 10 out of 17 Pioneer Valley town officials said Massachusetts should continue to allow virtual public meetings after the COVID-19 state of emergency ends. Since the health crisis, Massachusetts has passed one law and three executive orders to help municipalities continue to pass budgets and govern, including tweaks to the Open Meeting Law so that virtual meetings could be held.