Housing Headlines

NORTHAMPTON --- Home City Housing, a Springfield-based non-profit is in the process of renovating and preserving the 22 affordable units at New South Street Apartments, using a combination of CPA funds, CDBG funds and private financing.

BOSTON --- Longtime Jamaica Plain activist Helene C. Leary, who joined activists in opposing an expressway through JP and later helped start the non-profit Urban Edge to fight red-lining and make the real estate market more open to all people, died on July 27 at age 92.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD --- Islanders say the age-old problem of finding summer and year-round affordable housing seems worse than ever this summer, what with an improving economy, a nearly sold-out rental vacation market and 3,500 people who have joined a Facebook page called "MV Housing Rentals."

NANTUCKET --- More than 40 years after 9.2 acres was set aside for affordable housing, the Housing Assistance Corp. of Cape Cod and Habitat for Humanity are preparing to begin construction on 40 affordable homes that will be sold to income-qualified homebuyers making between 80 ($58,750) and 150 percent ($110,250) of the area's median income.

SAUGUS --- Saugus has entered into a four-town regional housing service agreement with Reading, North Reading and Wilmington. The four towns will fund a regional housing planner position that will focus on helping the four towns develop and maintain affordable housing.

FALL RIVER --- A few days after the city floated the idea of using state tax credits to build market rate housing in a tax-delinquent abandoned mill in the South End, residents reacted negatively, saying the last thing the neighborhood needs is housing and fearing that the market-rate units would never lease up and end up becoming subsidized low-income housing.