Housing Headlines

EASTHAM --- A few days before a Town Meeting vote on whether to buy a Rt. 6 site, a developer who currently has an option to acquire and develop the site announced he is scaling back his plans from 115 units on 10 acres to 50 units on five acres of the former golf driving range.

With Cambridge and Lexington having passed laws to make it easier for single-family home owners to create accessory apartments, Boston Globe columnist Dante Ramos looks at how this long tradition of carving out modest apartments within homes may help ease the housing crunch.

BROCKTON – The Brockton City Council voted narrowly to recommend the passage of the Urban Revitalization Plan, which would expand the city's current Chapter 40R smart growth district to other areas near the downtown train station that the city would like to see redeveloped.

AMHERST --- As behavior of some homeless people in downtown raises concerns, Town Meeting will soon be asked to vote on a measure that would OK $150,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to be used by a local agency to provide housing and services to five homeless people.

WORCESTER — The city has landed prospective buyers for two surplus properties, including a vacant May Street apartment building that the city purchased in 2013 after a developer failed to meet his obligation to the city to create 13 units of affordable housing on the property.

LYNN — The city once had about 50 homeless veterans, but federal officials recognized Lynn earlier this year as the first Massachusetts city to eliminate homelessness among residents who served their country. Three years ago, the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND) received funding to provide housing case management and other services to low-income veterans. As a result, the agency has helped 157 veterans find homes.