Housing Headlines

PITTSFIELD --- A total of $1 million in state grants will be coming to this city to support the rehabilitation of four neglected properties and to help a developer acquire and redevelop a mill building into rental housing.

HOPKINTON --- After more than a year of negotiations and delays, developer Roy MacDowell Jr. has been granted a special permit to develop the 730-acre Weston Nursuries site into 940 housing units. Known as Legacy Farms, plans call for condos, market-rate and affordable rental apartments and up to 50 single-family homes. The project also includes 450,000 square feet of commercial space, 500 acres of open space, 77 acres for Weston Nurseries, and 40 acres for playing fields and town uses.

FALL RIVER --- A bid to add language to the city's housing plan that would call for reduced density in public housing was voted down by the city council due to fears that it could cause the city to forfeit nearly $5 million in federal housing funds. The city's plan does include language outlining the city's ongoing efforts to reduce density at the Watuppa Heights housing project.

WORCESTER --- With the city in the middle of revising its housing plan and the mayor hinting at a "diminished role for neighborhood development," city officials were given a tour yesterday of housing developments sponsored by the city's community development corporations (CDCs). Organized by the mayor, the tour was given to highlight the value of community input, although CDC supporters have voiced concern that a seven-member council being created to oversee the new plan has a spot for only one CDC representative.

PLYMOUTH --- One month before its special permit was to expire, the plannng board granted A.D. Makepeace a two-year extension on River Run, a mixed-use village project that is expected to include a full-service YMCA, retail and office space, an assisted living facility, approximately 1,175 homes in a variety of styles, a water treatment plant and 1,600 acres of open space.

WORCESTER --- Church officials are considering converting the former Ascension Church on Vernon Hill into 35 units of affordable housing for seniors. An application for federal grant money to assist with construction costs will be submitted sometime next month.