In the nationwide bipartisan blitz to privatize public housing, Boston’s giving billions worth of benefits to some of America’s largest developers, financiers, and property management firms. Politicians are applauding, but for many residents caught in the transition, their housing future is unclear BY CHRIS FARAONE with research and reporting by ZACK HUFFMAN New rules “Sidewalks, […]
HOW DO WE KEEP ARTISTS IN SOMERVILLE?
The City held a discussion of the Somerville Arts Space Risk Assessment (Somerville Wire) – While artist studio buildings are central to having a robust creative economy, many artists in Somerville are experiencing challenges, when it comes to affordability of and access to space. To address this problem, the Somerville Arts Council has collaborated with […]
BOSTON’S BOOMING LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY MOVES TO SOMERVILLE
Image by Boynton Yards “The more we can encourage developers to build commercial properties, ironically, I think the more affordable housing that’s likely to result in.” The largest life sciences cluster in the nation, Cambridge’s Kendall Square, is reaching a saturation point. The industry, on the other hand, has no signs of slowing down and […]
WINTER HILL STAR MARKET SITE DEVELOPMENT IN DISCUSSION
The potential project, still in an early stage of planning, has benefited from community feedback (Somerville Wire) – On Nov. 8, the Land Use Committee held a public hearing to discuss the possibility of having the Winter Hill Star Market site developed by Mark Development, LLC. While community members did express some concerns, the response […]
OPINION: SOMERVILLE’S TIME-BOMB ISSUE
Part 2: What do we do? The City of Somerville’s buildings, roads, sidewalks, water distribution, and sewer systems are all at or near the end of their lifespans. A cogent memo to the City Council last spring detailed our infrastructure needs and estimated their costs. Its implications obligate reconsideration of basic assumptions guiding land-use policy […]