The South Coast community is on track to see its 20-acre waterfront transformed by a massive mixed-use development consisting of up to 1,500 new housing units, all of which the city has indicated should be market rate. The move has angered affordable housing advocates and sparked a familiar debate, where pro-development and pro-affordability ideals seem to be at odds.
Affordable housing
Posted inOpinion
Fall River waterfront makeover shouldn’t leave out affordable housing
Unfortunately, under Fall River’s current plans for the almost 1,500 homes slated for the site, bidders must defer to the city’s “strong preference for market-rate housing as the development option for the Property.”
Posted inOpinion
Homeownership preservation must be part of our housing strategy
There is a significant gap between making a homeowner and sustaining one.
Posted inHousing
Homeowner satisfaction high in Gateway Cities despite a host of financial challenges, new poll finds
The poll highlights a clash between how people feel about homeownership and what it means for their finances. Gateway City homeowners were more likely to skip urgent home repairs due to cost, buy in neighborhoods that were not their first choice, and say that competition with other buyers was a barrier they faced.
Posted inOpinion
Local wetlands and water resource rules are crucial for affordable housing – not barriers to its construction
While advocating for increased housing supply, we can and must protect our water supplies from pollution and ensure that housing development is accelerated in places and ways that are safe, healthy, and resilient.
Posted inHousing
How a shuttered hospital site in Lynn is being transformed into affordable housing for seniors
Local leaders say the $85 million development — which will be reserved for residents age 62 and older with incomes up to 60 percent of the area median income — will help alleviate the city’s housing shortage and provide an affordable, accessible option to some of Lynn’s most vulnerable residents.
Posted inOpinion
Here’s how we could build market-rate housing units in Boston that cost $100,000
Proven construction methods already exist to build housing at much lower cost than standard methods. What is missing is a strategy that aligns these elements into a system that actually produces entry-level homeownership.
Posted inHousing
In fight against Nantucket housing development, an unusual battle cry
Whether it’s just a calculated bid to pull any available lever in the NIMBY arsenal or the legitimate invocation of a serious environmental threat, or perhaps both, the review petition is now in the hands of the Healey administration.
Posted inHousing
Over 10 years in the making: Fitchburg cuts the ribbon on affordable housing project for artists
The city of Fitchburg has finally cut the ribbon on a nearly 13-year affordable housing project for artists. The post-industrial era city that suffered from the long-term decline of manufacturing has embraced arts and culture as a way to restore its standing as a vibrant hub of North-Central Massachusetts.
Posted inHousing
The new Seaport District? Restoration of Lynn’s waterfront has developers closing in on city’s South Harbor
The waterfront is one of Lynn’s major attractions and has been a key part of the city’s ongoing growth and economic revitalization plans. But affordable housing advocates have raised concerns about the kind of development that Harbor Park has attracted – comparing the South Harbor to Boston’s wealthy Seaport District.
Posted inHousing
Could Harris make a dent in housing crisis?
Kamala Harris’s plan for tackling the nation’s housing crisis could help, say experts, but only if it strikes the right balance of incentives to increase both housing demand and supply.
Posted inState Government
Much ado about the multibillion dollar housing bond bill
Major bond bills set the widest parameters for possible spending. But there’s little to no chance that $6 billion in bonding power actually gets pointed at the housing crisis.
Posted inHousing
House Democrats outline $6.2 billion housing plan
With sky-high sale prices and rents suffocating residents, the House will try to shift the tide by pumping more money into existing housing programs and rolling out a few new strategies.
Posted inHousing
Taking aim at barriers for underrepresented developers
Rather than waiting for underrepresented groups to become eligible for traditional housing funding sources, a new fund is “just doing away with this chicken and egg thing.”
Posted inOpinion
Getting the details right on transit oriented development law
PASSING AMBITIOUS LEGISLATION matters for obvious reasons, but so too does the rule-making process that follows a law’s passage. Final language often leaves state agencies with tremendous leeway, and real-world […]
Posted inOpinion
A holiday wish list for legislative action on housing
WHEN IT COMES to Massachusetts affordable housing policy, it is easy to have a vigorous debate about whether the glass is half full or half empty – and both sides would have […]
Posted inEconomy
In Hingham, a welcome to (well-heeled) black residents
IN THE END, Hingham’s gonna Hingham. And so the tony town on Boston’s South Shore finds itself facing a bit of blowback following an effort to show that it wants […]
Posted inUncategorized
Raising the alarm on housing
Tom O’Brien, one of the Boston-area’s leading developers, is raising the alarm about the region’s housing crisis. “One of the most important statistics that I’ve focused on in the last […]
Posted inThe Download
Raising the alarm on housing
Tom O’Brien, one of the Boston-area’s leading developers, is raising the alarm about the region’s housing crisis. “One of the most important statistics that I’ve focused on in the last […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop trashing an affordable housing option
PEOPLE ARE BAD-MOUTHING my house. Well, not my house in particular – though it could use a few upgrades, truth be told – but the model itself. After a lifetime […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to act on housing
THE 347 FAMILIES living in the Fairlawn apartments in Mattapan have good reason to be scared. Last year, when the owner put the property on the market, city officials worked […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker renews call for housing bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER doubled down Wednesday on legislation to make it easier for cities and towns to relax zoning restrictions to facilitate the construction of new […]
Posted inEconomy
A clash of housing visions
SEVERAL HUNDRED ADVOCATES from across the country are descending on Roxbury Community College beginning Friday for a conference committed to the idea of building more housing to relieve a crunch […]
Posted inEconomy
A new Quincy
QUINCY MAYOR THOMAS KOCH calls the MBTA’s Red Line the “spine” of his aging city. With four stops in North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, and Quincy Adams, the T’s Red […]
