Housing Headlines

ARLINGTON --- Deliberations by the Arlington Zoning Board of Appeals are set to begin September 5 on an affordable housing development proposed by the Housing Corporation of Arlington. The 43-units are proposed at 10 Sunnyside Avenue with a possible occupancy of 2026. A decision is expected to be made by the ZBA by September 24. During an August public hearing, residents expressed concerns about parking, safety, traffic flow and size of the development.

BROCKTON --- MassHousing has provided $12.9 million in financing for Bixby Brockton Apartments, a 106-unit affordable seniors housing complex. Affordable Housing & Services Collaborative Inc., will use the proceeds to fund capital improvements and extend the property’s affordability status.

STATE --- When it comes to increasing housing stock, Massachusetts lags behind 40 other states. Construction Coverage, a website that provides research and reviews related to the construction and real estate industries, ranked all 50 states and more than 300 metro areas based on the number of new housing units authorized per 1,000 existing homes in 2022. Among large metro areas, the Greater Boston region built the 13th fewest homes relative to the number of existing homes in 2022, the report said. But the capital region’s authorization rate of 7.1 new units per 1,000 existing units outpaced the statewide rate last year.

BROOKLINE --- The town select board has signed off on a two-part proposal which would rezone Harvard Street and the town’s existing multi-family districts. The plan is meant to comply with the state’s MBTA Communities Act. Town planners say it would lead to the construction of around 800 new housing units, 120 of which would be affordable. It now heads to a pre-Town Meeting review process before a likely final vote by Town Meeting in November or December.

BOSTON --- Last year, the East Boston Community Development Corp. bought 36 triple-deckers with 114 units of housing in East Boston, a $47 million transaction that illustrates how a partnership between the public sector, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector can secure housing. Housing advocates state that this kind of partnership can be replicated throughout the state.

REGION --- A Metropolitan Area Planning Council study states that there are more than 3,000 strip malls — roughly 14 square miles of them — across Greater Boston and many are “underutilized, underperforming or obsolete and they’d be ideal for helping solve the region’s housing crisis. The council estimates Eastern Massachusetts will need roughly 140,000 new multifamily housing units by 2030. If only 10% of those old malls were rebuilt to add housing, 125,000 units could be created.