Major Massachusetts housing law aims to build or save 65,000 multifamily and single-family homes

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey recently signed far-reaching legislation to boost housing production and address the high cost of housing in the Bay State.

The Affordable Homes Act aims to build or save 65,000 homes through $5.1 billion in spending and 49 policy initiatives. The legislation allows accessory dwelling units (ADUs) statewide, supports commercial-to-housing conversions, and provides incentives for affordable housing construction.

The act is “an unprecedented investment in modernizing the state’s public housing system,” according to a news release from the governor’s office. It also boosts programs that support first-time homebuyers and homeownership, provides incentives to build more housing for low to moderate-income residents, and supports sustainable and green housing initiatives.

ADUs under 900 sf will be allowed by right on single-family lots. This new policy replaces a patchwork of zoning regulations across the state with a uniform law that allows homeowners on single-family lots to add these small units without needing a special permit or variance unless they want to add more than one.

J.G. Whittier Apartments, a workforce housing project in Seattle uses the geology of eastern Washington as inspiration for the design. The architecture and interior design celebrate geometric anomalies found in nature. At the corners of the building, blackened wood siding “erodes” to expose vibrant murals underneath.

MFPRO+ New Projects | Aug 16, 2024

At 60 stories, the Paramount multifamily development will stand as Nashville’s tallest high rise

When complete, the 60-story Paramount building, at 750 feet high, will be the tallest high rise tower in Nashville, Tenn., surpassing the city’s current record holder, the 617-foot AT&T Building. The $390 million Paramount project recently launched condo sales after securing more than $230 million in construction financing.

The VIctor is a mixed-use adaptive reuse of a massive warehouse in St. Louis. Image: Sam Fentress

Adaptive Reuse | Aug 14, 2024

Adaptive reuse revives a former warehouse in St. Louis

The Victor, as the building is now called, has nearly 400 residential apartments.

MFPRO+ News | Aug 14, 2024

Report outlines how Atlanta can collaborate with private sector to spur more housing construction

A report by an Urban Land Institute’s Advisory Services panel, commissioned by the city’s housing authority, Atlanta Housing (AH), offered ways the city could collaborate with developers to spur more housing construction.

Mike Sinclair Photo of 80-unit modular construction project in Kansas City

Modular Building | Aug 13, 2024

Strategies for attainable housing design with modular construction

Urban, market-rate housing that lower-income workers can actually afford is one of our country’s biggest needs. For multifamily designers, this challenge presents several opportunities for creating housing that workers can afford on their salaries.

MFPRO+ Research | Aug 9, 2024

Apartment completions to surpass 500,000 for first time ever

While the U.S. continues to maintain a steady pace of delivering new apartments, this year will be one for the record books.

Rendering of The Phoenix affordable housing development

Affordable Housing | Aug 7, 2024

The future of affordable housing may be modular, AI-driven, and made of mushrooms

Demolished in 1989, The Phoenix Ironworks Steel Factory left a five-acre hole in West Oakland, Calif. After sitting vacant for nearly three decades, the site will soon become utilized again in the form of 316 affordable housing units.