Housing Headlines

HINGHAM --- Hingham voters will decide later this month whether their town should purchase the Lincoln School Apartments in order to guarantee that all 60 units remain affordable for seniors. John M. Corcoran & Co., which has managed the property for 30 years, has made an offer to buy the property and has stated it will keep it affordable as long as federal support for the project remains. The town has the right of first refusal, a condition it required when it sold the school for development back in 1980.

PLYMOUTH --- The Plymouth Redevelopment Authority will continue to educate South Shore homebuyers and homeowners on how to avoid foreclosure with a $52,500 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant money will go towards first-time homebuyer seminars as well as one-on-one counseling sessions. The Redevelopment Authority believes that foreclosure education will provide for more stable families and communities in this economic crisis.

MARION --- By an overwhelming majority, voters at a special town meeting last month approved three warrant articles leading to the expansion of the town's elderly housing complex at Little Neck Village. With the articles approved, the project will now be able to seek low income housing tax credit financing from the state. Marion will use community preservation funds to help finance the expansion.

WAYLAND --- The Board of Selectmen is hoping to decide on a developer for an affordable housing project at the former Nike site by the end of November. The town has outlined detailed specifications for a 40B housing project and they have formed a committee to find the right developer for the job. The town has already used state grant money for preliminary plans and will use more of the grant money to help choose their developer.

LOWELL --- The plan to turn a former ironworks into 32 affordable units has stalled due to the slumping housing market, a city official said recently. In 2006, the city seized the land and paid the owner of Soucy Ironworks $1.5 million to move his business out of the city. Since then, little progress has been made. "We will keep on doing pre-development work and put out feelers to developers, but given the real-estate market things are slow," said Anne Barton, deputy director of the city's Division of Planning and Development. "It is all still on the table. Having housing on that site would create a good little neighborhood."

BROCKTON --- Less than a year after developing and selling its first four affordable homes, the Brockton Interfaith Council has announced plans to build four more duplexes that will provide eight affordable homeownership opportunities for low and moderate-income homebuyers. Each of the duplexes will feature a two-bedroom condo for $147,000 and three-bedroom condo for $157,000. The homes will be available to people living or working in Brockton with a maximum income of $48,650 to $70,550, depending on family size. For more information, call 508-583-6464.