Housing Headlines

CAMBRIDGE --- In a no-nonsense opinion piece in his hometown Cambridge Chronicle, Northeastern professor and go-to housing expert Barry Bluestone sees the city council election as a series of stark choices between building more housing and exclusionary policies that will allow the rich to get richer.

BOSTON --- The number of students living in East Boston grew by 115 percent between 2006 and 2013, the latest year that complete city data are available. That makes it one of the fast-growing neighborhoods for students, along with Roxbury, Mission Hill, and the Downtown Crossing/Chinatown area.

WORCESTER --- With the city's homeless population estimated to have climbed from 1,300 to 1,700 in the last four years, students at Worcester State College participated in a "One Night Out" event, listening to a panel of experts discuss the issue before spending a night outside to gain a sense of what homelessness is like.

PROVINCETOWN --- At a special town meeting on Monday, Oct. 25, voters convincingly shot down a proposal that would've put a two-year moratorium on condominium conversions, a move that was sought to protect tenants in year-round rentals from losing their homes when property owners convert to condos and sell them to second-home buyers.

LENOX --- With August's approval of the town's zoning board of appeals in hand, HallKeen has notified residents that it is moving ahead with plans to convert Cameron House from 44 assisted living apartments into 38 affordable independent-living units for people 55 and older. This means that current residents will have to relocate to other assisted living facilities in the area. HallKeen President Andrew Burnes said his company is working with residents and families to find new apartments for current residents.

ASHLAND --- Similar to when Provincetown used a drone to show residents the height or a proposed apartment building, the Ashland Zoning Board of Appeals and Capital Group Properties will use balloons to illustrate the height of a proposed 140-unit Ch. 40B development. The proposals has been in discussion for a year and one neighbor to the property says 700 people have signed a petition opposing the subdivision.