ON CAMPUSES ACROSS the nation, a combination of guidance and financial assistance has sprung up to support first-generation college students. Academic institutions – big and small as well as public and private – have recognized the importance of giving first-gen students a leg up. When it comes to homeownership, first generation buyers are left to compete […]
Housing
Posted inOpinion
Say yes to redeveloping former Edison plant
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF the former Edison power plant has the potential to further revitalize South Boston and should be given the green light to move forward. The plan, which includes 1,344 condominium units, commercial business space for restaurants, retail shops, hotels, and offices, promises to boost the local economy. It will bring in hundreds of good jobs […]
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 with a well-respected non-profit developer with the intent to buy the building and keep it affordable for the residents. Instead, the owner sold the building […]
Posted inOpinion
To end homelessness, let’s rethink housing subsidies
ON A FRIGID NIGHT in January, a team from Project Place bundled up and hit the streets to participate in the City of Boston’s annual homeless census. Volunteers canvassed every neighborhood of the city into the early hours of the morning, as wind chill temperatures plunged to 25 degrees below zero. We offered bags filled with […]
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 housing, casting the problem of affordability and availability of housing as one central to the state’s ability to address other vexing problems like transportation options […]
Posted inOpinion
Lifting up homeless children
WHEN WE THINK of the homeless, we often imagine adults who might be battling addiction and mental health issues, but the truth is that 18,000 children experience homelessness in Massachusetts each year. Children experiencing homelessness are shuttled from place to place, night after night, often doubled up with relatives or friends, sometimes sleeping in cars […]
Posted inOpinion
Family homelessness in Mass. is staggering
IT’S TIME TO OPEN OUR EYES, pull our fingers from our ears, and talk about a crisis in our community — family homelessness. Many don’t realize or can’t fathom the magnitude and gravity of the situation because mothers with their children aren’t seen panhandling, standing on the street corner, or slouched on the curb. Yet, […]
Posted inThe Back Story
At MassHousing, $10K for a send-off tribute
A clarification has been added to this story to more fully explain the nature of the party. THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSING Finance Agency has been through a rough patch when it comes to coverage from the Boston Herald. The headline-hungry tabloid has gone after the quasi-public affordable housing agency in one story after another, detailing “lavish” spending […]
Posted inUncategorized
Temperatures plunged during homeless census count
AS SNOW SQUALLS and plunging temperatures took over Massachusetts for much of the last two days, no one felt it quite as hard as the homeless. The polar vortex arrived just in time for Boston’s 39th annual homeless census Wednesday night. City and state leaders and volunteers canvassed much of Downtown Crossing and other parts […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Car-free development taking root
THE PROPOSAL FOR a five-story, 56-unit residential apartment building on Dorchester Avenue includes a lot of the amenities that are now standard features in new development projects: A ground-floor gym and “media room,” a storage room with a rack for several dozen bicycles, and a community room on the top floor adjacent to a roof […]