Housing Headlines

SWAMPSCOTT --- The Swampscott Town Committee recently approved two zoning changes that will pave the way for the former Machon School to be redeveloped by B'Nai B'rth Housing into 38 affordable senior units and the former middle school into 28 units of mixed-income housing.

BOSTON --- Commenting on an article about reaction to the zoning reform bill currently winding through the legislature, Gov. Charlie Baker said he's waiting to see what passes in the Senate: "Massachusetts is famous for being one of the toughest states in the country to build a lot of things, and that's one of the reasons why we have trouble building less expensive things, like affordable housing," Baker said. "I want to make sure whatever we do with respect to this makes the situation better and not worse, and it's really complicated."

MILFORD - Waltham-based Eden Management is proposing to build a 300-unit apartment complex on East Main Street on land where Foxwoods proposed to build a casino several years ago.

WILLIAMSTOWN --- More than 10 years after the late Bob Kuehn started planning to redevelop an old mill near Williams College, developers Bart Mitchell and Dave Traggorth gathered with town officials and funders to celebrate the grand opening of Cable Mills, a handsome 61-unit apartment complex on the banks of the Green River.

BOSTON --- Banker & Tradesman columnist Scott Van Voorhis weighs in on the zoning reform bill winding its way through the state Senate, writing that while the bill's multifamily and cluster provisions indicate Beacon Hill is concerned about the state's housing crisis, additional local requirements in the bill may result in making housing production more difficult.

LOWELL --- The planning board has given special-permit approval to Vision Properties' plan to build small apartments for 438 students near Boot Mills, even as the developer continues to negotiate with owners of the abutting River Place Towers, which has raised concerns about the project's impact on traffic and parking.