Housing Headlines

SALEM --- Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announced that Salem has become one of two communities to have multifamily zoning districts compliant with the MBTA Communities law. Lexington is the other. Other communities on the North Shore, including Peabody, Beverly and Danvers have said they believe they already meet the requirements or can do so by making minor adjustments to their zoning laws.

WORCESTER --- City Council voted Tuesday to allow the construction of accessory dwelling units as of right in residential districts. The policy requires owners to occupy the property to construct an additional unit. Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn has said the owner-occupancy requirement is intended to prevent outside investors from flipping properties into Airbnbs.

MILTON --- Voters at Town Meeting approved their most significant zoning change in nearly 100 years, loosening the town’s construction rules to encourage more multifamily housing developments, as required by a historic and controversial state law. Opponents say they will begin immediately to gather signatures to trigger a ballot vote on the zoning ordinance.

STATE --- During a meeting in Concord to discuss housing, Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward M. Augustus said he's happy that Worcester is considering making accessory dwelling units legal in the city. He met with journalists from several Massachusetts newspapers that are part of the USA Today network to discuss the administration's proposed Affordable Homes Act and take questions.

BOSTON --- A ribbon cutting at 250 Centre Street, opposite the Jackson Square MBTA station, not only celebrated the completion of a mixed-income apartment building, but the knitting back together of a neighborhood demolished more than 50 years ago. The building has 100 units, 76 of which are targeted to middle-income residents and low-income residents.

BEVERLY --- The city has agreed to contribute $450,000 toward phase two of the Anchor Point affordable housing development. Beverly committed $400,000 in CPA money to phase two last year. But Harborlight Homes came back to the city seeking more money because of a budget gap of about $6 million due to rising interest rates and construction costs. The first phase, which has 38 units, opened last year. The second phase will have 39 units and is scheduled to be under construction in 2024.