Housing Headlines

CHATHAM --- Concerned about becoming an enclave for wealth second home owners due to the lack of affordable housing, Chatham Town Meeting voted to buy 2.5 acres for housing, put $1 million in local funds into the town's housing trust and authorized the select board to file legislation so the town can tax home sales over $2 million.

SWAMPSCOTT --- Taking to heart the sometimes heated concerns from residents, WinnDevelopment presented a modified plan for its mixed-income transit-oriented development at a commercial site at 21 Elm Place, which is a four-minute walk from the commuter rail. The developer's new plan cuts the number of apartments from 128 to 120, increases parking from 109 to 120 spaces and reduces the height of the project. Neighbors greeted the changes with a mix of concerns and grudging approval. “I’m glad to see it’s not horrifically ugly anymore,” said one resident.

CAPE COD --- During a regional panel discussion on the Cape's housing situation, state Senator Julian Cyr said the pandemic has exacerbated the Cape's affordable housing situation where it's now "a near-existential crisis." Cyr called upon local officials to address a problem that is hurting people and the economy. “It's really incumbent upon local officials to recognize our own agency in solving this problem,” Cyr said. “(If not) we will not have sustainable year-round communities."

WELLFLEET --- The town's 20-year quest to use a tax delinquent site to build affordable housing may finally be nearing the end as court records indicate that the town has settled with three abutters who have been holding up the project over concerns about driveway slope, water runoff and potential well contamination. The settlement paves the way for Community Housing Resources to build eight units on the property.

PROVINCETOWN --- Local business owner Patrick Patrick's bid to build a three-story workforce housing complex with one two-bedroom, 10 one-bedroom, five studios and 28 four-person dorm units has raised the ire of neighbors, who have no quarrel with the need for housing but want the developer to change his plans so it won't involve demolishing a sand dune and the habitat around it.

ATHOL --- Town Manager Shaun Suhoski has sent a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals, urging them to support zoning that would allow the nonprofit NewVue Communities of Fitchburg to preserve and renovate the historic Bigelow and Riverbend Schools into 53 mixed-income apartments. “We have the ability, right before us, right before this entire community to preserve history and to provide housing that is indisputably needed,' he wrote.