Housing Headlines

Mayor Linda Tyer has allocated $8.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to address housing insecurity and homelessness. Funding will help with the construction of 37 new permanent supportive housing units and 41 new affordable housing units.

Harvard and developer Tishman Speyer are commiting 25% of the housing units in the first phase of its proposed Enterprise Research Campus in Allston to be income-restricted. This commitment that would be the largest percentage of income-restricted units in a single project by a private developer in Boston.

There’s limited housing stock available in the Boston area, a problem that becomes even more noticeable ahead of Sept. 1, when 70 percent of the city’s leases begin. This year, desperate renters seeking new homes are offering more than the listed price for apartments, according to a report by WGBH.

A former Arlington town manager and the president of a community organization give their opposing views on whether the state’s multi-family zoning requirement in MBTA communities good policy.

WEYMOUTH --- The town council approved zoning changes for the Jackson Square neighborhood, including an incentive for developers to include affordable housing. Developers willing to commit to designating 10% of their housing units as affordable can seek approval from the zoning board of appeals for an additional floor that is 75 percent of the area of the floor below it.

MEDFIELD --- Filling the local news void, Select Board Member Osler "Pete" Peterson reports in his blog that voters at special town meeting were virtually unanimous in approving Trinity Financial's plan to build 334 mixed-income rental apartments in the existing buildings at the former Medfield State Hospital site. An estimated 800 residents attended the meeting, spread out in the gym, the library and a tent outside.