Housing Headlines

FRAMINGHAM --- Advocates Inc. will soon begin construction to convert a former nursing home into eight affordable housing apartments with support for clients recovering from mental illnesses. The project has been in the planning stages for 12 years and is being financed with federal and state grant money. Advocates president and CEO William J. Taylor said residents will have an experience "in which they can have both privacy and a sense of community."

EASTON --- Owners of the former Ames Shovel Company factory have proposed a 40B development of 182 units of housing with 30,000 square feet of office space on the 8-acre site. The construction plan requires the demolition of some of the original buildings and the expansion of others which has upset descendants of the original factory owners. The descendants are urging for the preservation of the historic buildings and are prepared to present alternative designs for the project to developers. The ZBA will discuss traffic concerns around the development site at a meeting on December 3, 2008.

FALMOUTH --- At a recent selectmen's meeting, housing developer Bob Murray spoke against the local housing committee's support of a 15-unit project known as Webster Woods. Murray, whose non-profit Falmouth Housing Corporation has created over 130 units of rental housing, noted that the project would create only five or six affordable units and and added that's not worth "disturbing the woods."

WALTHAM --- A City Council subcommittee recently altered bid specifications for two proposals to lease, renovate and reuse the former Banks and Hardy schools for senior housing. Councilors requested changes in the potential developer requirements, language on the bid specification to ensure that the largest amount of affordable housing possible will be built, as well as a requirement that no additions or extensions be added to the Hardy school. All changes will be added to both requests for proposals by the city's legal department.

MANCHESTER --- The Zoning Board of Appeals is weighing a 40B proposal to turn a large indoor horse riding arena into a 40-unit condominium project, with 10 of the units slated to be affordable. Called Coolidge Commons, developers plan one 24-unit three-story building and four four-unit townhouses. Town selectmen have expressed concerns about the potential run-off from the Summer St. site and additional bacterial contamination of the nearby water.

LOWELL --- The Coalition for a Better Acre recently announced plans to convert the former site of St. Joseph's High School into 22 affordable-housing units. The $4 million project will consist of one, two and three-bedroom units with renovations slated to begin in the summer of 2009. CBA Project Manager Jeff Fugate stated that they hope to preserve as much of the Merrimack Street building as possible.