Housing Headlines

NEWTON --- Mayor Ruthanne Fuller has named seven residents to the city's new affordable housing trust, stating that the trust "has the ability to create a streamlined process to provide funding for new affordable housing projects." Named to the trust were Tamirirashe Gambiza, a certified public accountant and member of the Commonwealth Land Trust; Ann Houston, former president of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association; Jason Korb, principal of Newton-based developer Capstone Communities LLC; and Peter Sargent, formerly of the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation. The trust also includes Councilor Alicia Bowman and Community Preservation Committee member Judy Weber.

Local officials who say state zoning reforms are taking away local control are peddling a "fallacy," the Banker & Tradesman declares in an April 3 editorial. The editorial argues towns still have a strong say in what gets built and it urges lawmakers to stand by the state's new zoning requirement for MBTA communities and pass additional zoning proposals this year so the state can better address its housing crisis and take steps toward limiting greenhouse gases.

HOLYOKE --- Responding to Way Finders' interest in creating more affordable housing, the city and the Springfield-based nonprofit have reached an understanding in which the development focus will be on High Street area of downown.

IPSWICH --- Six weeks after the select board voted to send a multifamily moratorium proposal to town meeting, the planning board nixed a developer's proposal to build 10 units on a half-acre downtown lot near the town's commuter rail station.

AMHERST --- The town has selected the Way Finders Inc. to develop two sites into 70 affordable apartments. The Springfield non-profit has been selected to redevelop the East Street School site into 29 apartments and a 2.6 acre site on nearby Belchertown Road into 40 apartments. This site was purchased by the town with $825,000 Community Preservation Act and affordable housing trust funds.

HOLYOKE --- A city report released earlier this year found that a cooperative effort by departments for the City of Holyoke have stabilized 60 of 74 properties that were identified as distressed when the joint effort was launched in 2015. "What the Holyoke Property Preservation Group has achieved is a clear example of why it’s important for local governments to think outside the box,” said Mayor Joshua Garcia. “Our cross-departmental collaboration has resolved many properties that have been a nuisance for a very long time."