EASING RULES ON building accessory dwelling units, or “granny flats.” Allowing cities and towns to impose real estate transfer fees. A new “momentum fund” aimed at attracting private capital. Those are some of the proposals packed into the $4.1 billion housing bond bill that Gov. Maura Healey is unveiling this morning, at a press conference […]
Housing
Posted inOpinion
The environmental case for repurposing downtown buildings
AT A TIME when vacancy rates in some of Boston’s downtown office buildings remain high and foot-traffic has been slow to return in office only districts, long-floated ideas of converting commercial space to residential units are once again being considered. This is a move that could have positive implications, not just for increased housing production, […]
Posted inHousing
Shelter system also key for survivors of domestic violence
THE SUDDEN SPOTLIGHT on Massachusetts’ painfully strained shelter system – creaking under growing demand driven by new migrant arrivals – has mostly glanced past a group that was already struggling to find safe haven before the crunch hit “unsustainable” levels. Survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse sit at the uneasy intersection of the system’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Why Newton’s zoning plan is so controversial — and needed
Three percent. That’s the total amount of land area that would be affected by a plan now before the Newton Council to update the zoning code in the city’s village centers. Just 3 percent. Which means 97 percent of Newton won’t change. Still, hundreds of passionate opponents and proponents gathered at City Hall and on Zoom […]
Posted inCourts, Housing, State Government, State House News Service
Bill would ensure tenant access to lawyers in eviction cases
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LOW-INCOME TENANTS who are at risk of being evicted could gain access to free legal representation through a proposed program that garnered support from housing attorneys during a legislative hearing Wednesday. The program, outlined in a Sen. Sal DiDomenico bill (S 864), is meant to level the playing field for vulnerable […]
Posted inEconomy
Report says Boston region teetering on ‘the precipice’
THE GOOD NEWS is the Boston area is hardly alone in facing serious headwinds from the pandemic’s upending of work patterns and the uncertainty it’s introduced about our economic future. The bad news: simply having plenty of company in our misery does not mean we can sit back and wait to ride some broad trend […]
Posted inHousing, State House News Service
Wu cool to Widett Circle proposal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu was cool Monday to the idea that Widett Circle could be used as a recovery campus to help address persistent drug use and homelessness at the nearby intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, and said she is not troubled by the amount of time the […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Reckoning looms over ‘home equity theft’
IN LATE MAY, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler, a Minnesota woman who did not get the surplus back after her condo was foreclosed on and sold off for $40,000 — $25,000 more than what she owed. By keeping the excess, the court held the Minnesota county where Tyler lived […]
Posted inHousing, State Government
Addressing the racial gap in home ownership
STATE PROGRAMS DESIGNED to boost home ownership by people of color are working, but more funding, outreach, and affordable homes are needed to significantly reduce the historical racial gap in home ownership, according to a new report put out by the research arm of the Boston Foundation. The Boston Indicators report says decades of explicit […]
Posted inHousing, Opinion, Politics
Massachusetts voters want rent control option
THERE IS AN intense debate in progressive circles (behind the scenes, for the most part) on whether to pursue a ballot initiative for the 2024 election to enable municipalities to enact policies to stabilize rents in their communities. Some advocates and lobbyists argue against pursuing such a measure, claiming that it is unlikely to win […]