Housing Headlines

STONEHAM --- An affordable housing legal specialist has advised the town to stop efforts to block an apartment complex on Weiss Farm until developer John M. Corcoran and Company has an opportunity to present its plans to build 300 units. Lawyer Jon Witten, hired by the town to represent it in negotiations, warned the town at a special forum that it not "prejudge anything just because of the nature of the (Ch. 40B) law. You have courts that will treat a community very poorly, if it prejudges an application before it gets across the threshold."

BRIDGEWATER --- The Bridgewater Town Council unanimously approved a set of zoning amendments aimed at jumpstarting downtown revitalization, the most significant a measure that will allow residences in the central business district around the town common.

EASTON --- Residents in the Williams St. neighborhood say while they are for affordable housing and have supported nearby efforts, they will continue to fight with a property owner who bought a single-family home in 2005, split it into a two-family rental , was denied from building another home on the property in 2006 and, since 2008, has been pursuing a Ch. 40B permit to build 28 units on the 2.5 acre lot.

LEE --- A restaurant, hotel, affordable housing and community center are among the potential re-uses for the Eagle Mill, according to the local developer seeking to revitalize the community's oldest factory.

WILLIAMSTOWN --- The town's Affordable Housing Committee will hold two public sessions in October to get input from the community on how to best develop two brownfield sites - the old town garage on Water St. and the Photech Mill on Cole Ave. Work to clean up both properties has been going on for years and the town has now reached the stage where it is seeking public input in order to put out a Request for Proposals to developers.

STONEHAM --- This past spring, the Stoneham Housing Authority celebrated the completion of four 100 percent accessible wheelchair units, three of which are now homes to disabled military vets. Another feature is that the development uses passive solar energy for heat. Since the opening, the project has received two awards: it won the 2013 HUD Secretary's Housing and Community Design Award and the architects - Abacus Architects - won the Public Architecture Award from the state's Architectural Access Board and the Boston Society of Architects.