Housing Headlines

GREAT BARRINGTON --- Plans to turn the former Searles/Bryant school annex into 11 affordable downtwon condominiums inched closer to reality recently when the Community Developoment Corp. of South Berkshire received state funding to hire an architect to start conceptualizing the project.

CHELMSFORD --- An affordable-housing complex of at least 108 units on Mill Road has inched forward, with the Zoning Board of Appeals agreeing to conditions with the developer. Among the conditions is one that allows developer Princeton Properties to move forward with a plan to build between 108 and 132 units on the 4.4-acre site next to the Hittite office building at the east end of Mill Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals, which will take up the matter again Feb. 20, agreed to the conditions last week. It has not issued full approval.

MARLBOROUGH - The Marlborough Housing Authority is attempting to terminate section 8 housing certificates for a handful of tenants who have violated the terms of their Section 8 agreements, Housing Director Douglas Bushman said last week.

BOSTON --- In a breakdown of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's report that Greater Boston will need 435,000 units to house young workers and seniors, the Globe's Matt Carroll breaks out which communities are likely to grow and need more housing.

BOSTON --- Banker & Tradesman reporter Scott Van Voorhis reports that a new study set to be released today finds that Massachusetts is last in the nation in the percentage of homes owned by blacks and Hispanics (subscription required).

BOSTON --- Nuestra Comunidad Executive Director David Price puts forth a thoughtful seven-part recipe on how to increase homeownership opportunities for the middle class in Boston. Among his suggestions are identify the income range to be supported and and create city and state subsidies to write down purhcase prices to make homeownreship attainable.