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.
Be Bolder, Think Bigger to Solve Our Region’s Housing Crisis
Even if every possible new unit is built under the MBTA Communities reforms, we’d just end up right back where we are today, without housing policy in place to support the sustainable long-term growth of this region.
Survey: Many Young People Ready to Leave Boston Region
With the region already grappling with workforce shortages, a quarter of young professionals living in Greater Boston intend to move elsewhere over the next five years as they navigate their career prospects and housing affordability, a new survey released Monday found.
Clergy Leaders Repeat Call for Housing Action
More than 115 members of the Massachusetts clergy signed onto an open letter to House and Senate leadership Sunday, saying that “it is clear that the issue of housing has all but consumed the hearts and minds of our people” and urging the Legislature to take five specific steps to contend with the state’s housing crunch.
Sun Belt Wins, Mass. Loses in Housing Construction
Massachusetts politicians should look at Raleigh, North Carolina with a mixture of anger, envy and fear: Anger and envy that that metro has outpaced us in housing construction by miles, fear that it will help them steal our jobs and prosperity.
Augustus, Driscoll Tapped to Chart More Housing Reforms
Gov. Maura Healey is still waiting for the legislature to act on her big housing bill, but she paused Monday to swear in two panels of developers, municipal leaders and advocates Monday, charged with charting more housing production reforms.
Prison Closures Offer Great Opportunities for More Housing
Gov. Maura Healey has promised to “go big” on housing as he pushes a multibillion-dollar spending plan. But three big pieces of disused or soon-to-be-disused state property show she’s got more work to do in that regard.
Crush of Testimony Reflects Seriousness of Housing Crisis
The Healey administration’s plan to supercharge...
Lawmakers Rule Out Tax Hikes to Pay for Guv’s Proposals
Gov. Maura Healey launched into her second year as...
Fiscal Group Flags Financial Hurdle for Healey’s Housing Bill
At $4.12 billion, Gov. Maura Healey’s housing production bond bill proposes a huge step up in state spending on affordable housing production over the next five years. But a fiscal watchdog group says it’s not yet clear how the state will be able to pay for the spending in future years.
Trust Gap Muddies Mayor’s Message
Wu is essentially asking developers to trust her over the next year as she tries to achieve things previously considered pie-in-the-sky dreams. But it’s hard for some parts of the real estate community to do that.
New Year, New Housing Policy Choices on Beacon Hill
Gov. Maura Healey’s housing bill boldly proposes a huge increase in affordable housing spending and equally needed policy reforms. But one provision, a transfer tax, would set Massachusetts back.
Is a Boston Housing Tax Break Really Just a ‘Work in Progress’?
Wu’s decision not to move forward at this time disappointed housing developers with projects stalled on the drawing boards, but industry circles aren’t losing hope just yet.
The Year Massachusetts Got Serious About Housing Production
2023 ushered in new policy initiatives to tackle the housing crisis. Is 2024 the year we get production back on track, as all levels of government signal they are prioritizing big solutions?
Warren Throws Weight Behind Healey Housing Bill
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren gave a strong endorsement Gov. Maura Healey’s housing plan, and said the federal government will need to “step up” to help the state address its housing affordability and availability crisis.
Healey Pledges to Enforce Rezoning Mandate
Pledging to take enforcement “very seriously,” Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday that her team will not hesitate to block some state funding for cities and towns that fail to comply with mandatory zoning reforms.
Boston Looks to NYC to Get Construction Moving
With housing construction stalled across Boston, the Wu administration is thinking big when it comes to ways to get apartment and condominium projects moving again.
State Makes Housing Voucher Change that’s Created ‘Incredible Results’ Elsewhere
A seemingly-obscure bureaucratic move announced by State Housing Secretary Ed Augustus Wednesday could be transformative for renters with housing vouchers, experts say.
Plans for Newton Train Stations Up the Ante in Zoning Debate
Newton city councilors are facing pressure to scale back plans to rezone the community’s 13 commercial nodes for more multifamily development to comply with the state’s MBTA Communities law, but one of the mooted suggestions could come at a cost: plans to revamp its commuter rail stations.
Progressives Blinded by Their Own Purity Test on Housing
Yes, we can solve the housing crisis, they say, but only if we stick with the morally pure solution – affordable housing.
