Housing Headlines

AUSTIN --- Former Somerville resident Maria Massello, whose family dates back four generations in the city, writes about how rising prices in her beloved city forced her and her family to make the toughest decision of their lives - leave the place they love for a more affordable lifestyle in Austin.

ASHLAND --- About 50 residents attended a zoning board of appeals meeting on July 23 to voice their concerns over Southborough-based Capital Group Propertes' pursuit of Ch. 40B permit to build 140 units of rental housing on West Valentine St.

FALL RIVER --- In an editorial published July 15, the Fall River Herald News urged the housing authority and state to go back to its original plan of replacing the demolished Watuppa 100-unit public housing site with 26 affordable homeownership units rather than the 50-unit rental/11 homeownership unit proposal, now on the table, reasoning that the neighborhood is reboundng and the smaller plan is what residents want.

NEW BEDFORD --- Back in May, the Standard-Times did a report on the number of illegal apartments in the city after city inspectors ordered a woman who was trying to sell her home to destroy an illegal basement apartment. Real estate experts in the story did not dispute the existence of these illegal apartments but say some of them already existed when purchased by current owners. Real estate experts estimate that 30 to 40 percent of the homes in the city have some unpermitted work, much of it finished basements or second kitches.

BOSTON --- The condo trustees of the high-rise Harbor Towers have issued an 11-page letter to the BRA and Mayor Martin J. Walsh stating that the two-towerproposal put forth by developer Donald Chiofaro is too big for the waterfront site.

BEDFORD --- Eight months after a public meeting and a vow by state Rep. Ken Gordon that he would work with the state to find permanent homes for homeless famlies placed in a Bedford hotel, the number of homeless families living in town has dropped from 90 to 24. Aaron Gornstein, the state's Undersecretary for Housing, explained that the increase in homeless families placed in Bedford and other communities was due to a spike in homelessness late last year but in the last several months, dozens of families have been moved from the Bedford Plaza Hotel into affordable housing.