Housing Headlines

NEWTON --- The firms chosen to co-develop the Newton Armory answered several questions from the community recently regarding how they plan to reuse the 110-year-old building. Representatives from Metro West Collaborative and Civico Development said the front part of the armory will be preserved and used for a variety of historic and community uses while the field house attached to the back will be replaced with a new wing featuring 43 affordable apartments. MetroWest CD will also be relocating its headquarters to the second story of the armory.

Racial covenants can be found in property records all over the country, including Massachusetts, where many restrictions were written from the late 19th to mid-20th century. Despite laws that rendered these covenants illegal, some state lawmakers and judges remain concerned that the clauses are still included in property recordsand they are trying to figure out the best way to amend the records to reflect the fact that such clauses are no longer permitted.

CHATHAM --- Saying it actively seeking properties, the affordable housing trust is asking that it receive 80 percent of the funds collected through the town's annual Community Preservation Act property tax surcharge. Currently, the fund has $2.5 million and the trust request could add another $1.2 million. Rising second home sales taking year-round homes off the market is the impetus for the request said Alan Mowry, a member of the trust committee.

Looking for a good interpretation of the state's draft guidelines for the state's new zoning requirement for MBTA communities? Boston Indicators has published a thorough report that walks through the basics and explains concepts like "districts of reasonable size" and capacity calculations for communities.

In a new report entitled "Rethinking the Retail trip," the Metropolitan Area Planning Council analyzed more than 3,000 strip malls across Greater Boston. Chock full of interactive maps and charts, MAPC found that many of them are underutilized and if just 10 percent were developed into mixed-use projects, 124,000 homes could be created, increasing building values and bringing over $475 million in additional local tax revenue.

NORTH ADAMS --- The state Department of Housing and Community Development has approved a smart growth zoning district for downtown North Adams, paving the way for more residential and mixed-use development downtown. The district includes two areas — one is around downtown, and the other is in an area between Union and Eagle streets called the “mills subzone.”