Housing Headlines

Debate around the proposed 10,000 unit development continues to center around how many of the units should be designated as affordable. “Twenty percent affordable housing is something I’d like to see the developer get to us,” said Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards. Developer Thomas O'Brien countered, saying “And so we really we just can't see a way that we can make that math work.”

JAMAICA PLAIN --- Despite a neighborhood group's insistence that any new housing be 100 percent affordable, the Boston Redevelopment Authority voted 3-2 to approve developers Dan Mangiacotti and Paul Iantosca's plan to build 76 apartments - 18 affordable - at 3200 Washington St. The building will replace an abandoned six-unit building that has drawn police attention for illicit parties and squatters.

NANTUCKET --- As many as 25 neighbors and abutters of the proposed controversial 56-unit Surfside Commons 40B affordable-housing development attended a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting to voice their concerns about the development proposed by Atlantic Development.

BOSTON --- The latest report on the mayor's housing plan found the city building middle income housing at 85 percent of the speed needed to reach its 2030 goals.

LITTLETON --- The town's track record of approving measures that promote more housing continued this week as Town Meeting voted to rezone the 41-acre IBM industrial site, paving the way for new owner Sal Lupoli to propose a mixed-use development with housing. Concerns remain about municipal impacts but the vote does follow other moves the town has made, such as encouraging housing near commuter rail, accessory dwelling units and an amended senior development bylaw that promotes residents staying in town as they age.

HOLYOKE --- Once outdated and slated to be destroyed, the rejuvenated Lyman Terrace public housing has been recognized by the federal government's Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with a 2021 Charles L. Edson Award for Tax Credit Excellence Award in preservation. Developed by Community Builders with technical assistance and financing support from MHP, Lyman Terrace involved the rehabilitation and expansion of 164 affordable apartments near downtown that had been built in 1939.