State says ’No’ to Developer

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

Developers who hoped to build 78 affordable housing units on Mills Avenue have been denied by the state’s MassHousing program.

“We have a multitude of affordable housing in the city,” said Ward 5 Councillor John Powers. “The Housing Authority alone has over 1,000 affordable housing units.”

Powers said if the developer comes back they are going to have to propose something that fits with the neighbors and the neighborhood.

The unnamed developer from Winthrop had come to the city for a special permit to build 42 affordable housing units, but when they found they did not have enough votes they applied to MassHousing under the 450B program with 78 units on Thayer Avenue.

Two of the biggest concerns in the neighborhood are flooding and traffic, Powers said. Both he and City Council President Robert Haas wrote to the state opposing the proposal.

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