Housing Headlines

HINGHAM -- A duplex off Route 3A will soon be added to the town's affordable housing inventory. Hingham Affordable Housing Trust bought the property in 2019 for $524,000 and will sell it to families as two units for $220,000 each with a $200 monthly condominium fee. Units are 965 and 985 square feet.

BOSTON -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to streamline the timeline on affordable housing projects by signing an executive order with an objective to retool the zoning code to slice the time to approve such projects in half. Wu announced the order during remarks at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s annual “Government Affairs Forum.”

MATTAPAN -- A California developer has filed plans to replace a vacant lot at 1471 Blue Hill Ave. in Mattapan with an energy-efficient, five-story, 48-unit affordable apartment building. All the studios, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units would be rented to people making between 30 and 70 percent of the area median income, including people with Section 8 vouchers.

BOSTON --- City planners have released a study that proposes to turn Mattapan into a “10-minute neighborhood” by allowing the construction of up to 2,400 additional homes, a more diverse mix of retail and installing and street improvements that will make it safer for pedestrians. The goal is to transform Mattapan - a majority Black/African neighborhood - into a place where people are within a 10-minute walk of amenities and improve the lives of residents, who have the longest commutes of any neighborhood in the city.

SOMERVILLE -- Based on Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize–winning book of the same name, the traveling exhibit “Evicted” includes eviction data from every state and a section highlighting stories and photos of Somerville residents at risk of eviction. The exhibit is on display at the Somerville Armory through November 4.

EASTHAMPTON --- The City Council has given the go-ahead for Mayor Nicole LaChapelle to prepare a request for proposal that would seek a developer to redevelop three schools near downtown. The vote caps four years of community input and technical planning were guided by the city's new strategic plans for the downtown and affordable housing production. The goal of the RFP is to create affordable housing in one or all the buildings.