Addressing Elevator Issues
America has a serious elevator shortage, and it’s an impediment to developing the amount and types of housing we need to meet demand and improve affordability.
Congress Shouldn’t Squander Opportunity to Make Two Key Housing Fixes
The House and Senate have overwhelmingly passed their own sweeping housing bills. But if key members don’t negotiate, we’ll lose a chance for meaningful progress.
Parking Mandates Drive up Housing Costs. Let’s Learn from Others and Eliminate Them
One parking space can add more than $200 to monthly rent. Bring down the cost of production and more dollars go to housing and fewer to parking.
Single-Stair Can Unlock New Housing Without Compromising Safety
State legislators are considering a commission to study an idea that could create 130,000 new homes in Greater Boston. Towns and cities could be moving even faster.
A ‘Win-Win-Win’ is Possible in Wellesley and Beyond
Shaping a plan for 180 apartments on a Wellesley community college campus illustrates just how complicated carrying out the State Land for Homes program will be.
Minimum Lot-Size Reform Is a Modest Idea with Big Potential
A proposed 2026 ballot initiative could seed housing production by making it easier to build more affordable single-family starter homes in Massachusetts.
Taming Accelerating Housing Costs
Producing multifamily housing in the commonwealth continues to be a challenge. One of the obstacles to building the new housing we so desperately need has been a sharp increase in the cost of construction.
Mass. Should Say: ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’
Significant drops in religious affiliation have left many shrinking congregations struggling to maintain large buildings and surplus land. A new bill makes it easier to help them with affordable housing.
Cambridge Legalized Multifamily Housing Citywide. Just as Remarkable: How They Got There
Just as significant as the ordinance itself: It was adopted by an almost unprecedented 8-1 City Council vote. Achieving that consensus took time.
In Search for Mass. Housing Fixes, It’s Land, Ho!
Many believe that solving our own housing crisis is out of our control because we have no land to build on, but that is not so. What is lacking is broad political will.
Towns, Cities Need Partners When Repurposing School Buildings into Senior Housing
Consistent public school enrollment declines mean that surplus school buildings could be a real source of new homes, but towns and cities often lack the expertise to do it themselves.
Housing Bill’s Momentum Fund Has Potential for Outsized Impact
Designed to provide flexible financing to invest directly in market-driven, mixed-income housing projects that are currently stalled, this innovative fund holds significant promise.
Proposed State Stormwater Regulations Will Undermine Our Housing Goals
Rigid and in some cases overengineered solutions would not make projects more resilient, and instead could significantly cut the amount of housing we can produce.
Municipalities Will Not Lead on Housing
As passions around the MBTA Communities law rise, it’s time to take a fact-based look at the law, put it in context with what other states are doing and plan accordingly.
Housing Tax Credit Bill Should Be on U.S. Senate’s To-Do List
A bill making its way through Congress could spark the largest increase in resources for affordable rental housing in nearly a quarter of a century and reduce project costs.
Rampant Insurance Increases Are Stifling Housing Production
There’s a new threat to affordability that is jolting the rental apartment real estate industry, especially those in market-rate and affordable multifamily housing: insurance premiums.
A Workhorse Affordable Housing Program Is Expanding Significantly
The need for more affordable housing in the Greater Boston area is at an all-time high, but construction is headed for a record low. Fortunately, Gov. Maura Healey has proposed tools that can help fix this.
Redouble the Effort to Support the Community Preservation Act
A few key reforms can help overcome the real obstacle to growing the number of housing units the CPA creates: the lack of local political will to seed new housing that CPA funds can be spent on.
Expanding HDIP Funding Offers Many Worthwhile Benefits
It’s a policy that can help downtowns be busier and healthier, assist cities with revenue and reduce the concentration of poverty by increasing their overall supply of housing.
ADUs Are No Longer a Fringe Housing Solution
There’s rarely a silver bullet solution to such a crisis, but state action to allow accessory dwelling units by right would clearly narrow the gap between supply and demand, and reduce housing costs.
