Housing Headlines

BOSTON --- Charlotte Golar Richie, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's longtime director of neighbhorhood development, will step down next month and join Gov. Deval Patrick's administration as a senior advisor for federal, state and community relations, according to a story in the Dorchester Reporter weekly newspaper.

BEDFORD --- Caritas Communities has completed Bedford Veterans Quarters, 60 units of affordable permanent housing for homeless veterans on Bedford Veterans Administration Medical Campus. The tenants will either be homeless, coming from a shelter or will come from transitional housing, and will be offered a 12-month lease upon moving in.

BOSTON --- Noting that Horace Mann, the nation's founder of public education, first outlined his ideas during a July 4 speech in Dedham, Globe columnist Steve Bailey takes Dedham to task for wanting to cede 40 acres to Boston so as to avoid having a housing project that would add children to its schools.

BOSTON --- Dedham hopes that the City of Boston will agree to annex a 40-acre parcel of land where developers plan to build 1850 housing units. Dedham officials say the town can't support the number of students which may result from the family-friendly units, and the city of Boston is in need of more affordable housing.

NORTH ANDOVER --- On June 7, town meeting approved Osgood Landing, a 530-unit 40R effort by Avalon Bay that will bring the town closer to meeting the state's required 10 percent affordable housing. Ozzy Properties will pay the town $2,000 per housing unit and the state will provide $3,000 per unit, totaling $2.65 million if all the units are built.

SHREWSBURY --- This town just east of Worcester will be weighing three large 40Bs next month including a 444-unit proposal from Avalon Bay and two bids to turn the former Rt. 9 Spag's department store site into a mixed-use development that would include commercial, retail and over 300 apartments.