Housing Headlines

WEST SPRINGFIELD --- The owner of a 156-unit manufactured senior home park is proposing to add nine more units on a new road to be built off John Drive. The three-bedroom homes will sell for around $100,000 to $150,000 and will be reserved for seniors 55 years and older. The new construction must be approved by the city Planning Board before the owner can proceed.

FALL RIVER --- Three city businessmen recently purchased the historic Quaker Fabric headquarters to convert into a mixed-use development. The development would consist of 75 luxury rental units on the top three floors of the building along with commercial space for shops and restaurants on the lower two levels. The building needs to be re-zoned from industrial to mixed-use before any construction can begin.

FITCHBURG --- Facing a $4.2 million budget gap, Mayor Lisa Wong has proposed closing the city's Community Development Department and distrubuting duties among various departments, but the city council has questions as to how much money the moves will actually save.

DRACUT --- Town officials recently made an offer to buy a former plot of farmland on which to build affordable housing for seniors. The sellers have not yet agreed to the deal but the John Hassan, chairman of the Community Preservation Committee, said "[our offer] is in their ballpark." The town would build 46 one-bedroom affordable cottages for seniors. Officials estimate that the project would take three years to complete depending on whether the town can obtain state funding.

AMHERST --- Town Manager Larry Shaffer recently announced that a plan will be developed to provide a shelter for the town's homeless population during the winter. Town staff in the Conservation and Architectural Development department are launching an architectural feasibility study to find an appropriate site for the shelter.

TOWNSEND --- RCAP Solutions recently celebrated the groundbreaking of 36 units of affordable senior housing adjacent to a senior housing complex the developer built 21 years ago. The new Townsend Woods complex received $5.5 million in funding from the federal government and $1 million from state funding sources. Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011.