Housing Headlines

KINGSTON --- Developer Peter Conant and his company, Own A Home Massachusetts, wants to build nine expandable starter homes next to the town's old fire house on Maple St. A spokesman for the company said the first floor of each home would be fully developed, the second floor would be unfinished and the sales price would be $300,000. The second floor would be finished if the buyer prefers. When complete, the homes would be two stories with two bedrooms, one and a half baths and a two-car garage.

SOMERVILLE --- Affordability was the theme of the annual State of the City address recently, with Mayor Joe Curtatone, Alderman President Bill White and School Committee Chairman Adam Sweeting all pledging to work so working families aren't priced out of the city as a result of the Green Line expansion and redevelopment of Union Square.

QUINCY --- In its ongoing series about city neighborhoods, the Patriot Ledger looks at the Montclair section of North Quincy, where new immigrants mix with old residents, where condos near the train station can go for $370,000 and where City Councilor Dennis Coughlin is concerned that builders are opting to pay into the local affordable housing trust rather than include affordable housing in their projects.

MATTAPAN --- About 150 community members heard from four developers about their plans to redevelop the long-abandoned Cote Ford site. Making proposals were Corcoran Jennison, Codman Square NDC, Hyde Park resident Faubert Smith and a partnership that includes Caribbean Integration Community Development, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs.

QUINCY --- A new ownership structure has been set up for the purposes of purchasing and rehabilitating the 640-unit senior housing apartment complex at Quincy Point. The complex's previous owner, Quincy Point Congregational Church Homes, has partnered with the National Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions to purchase the property for $70.6 million. The new ownership will result in renovations to the property and a preservation of affordability.

NORTH ATTLEBORO --- The zoning board of appeals has asked a consultant to review a previous traffic study that estimated that a proposed 66-unit Ch. 40B affordable housing development for downtown would add only 15 vehicles during rush hour. Residents near the site say the proposal by Great Bridge Properties is too big for the neighborhood.