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It's not about a decline in revenue, it's about an increase in expenses. The situation a lot of towns in MA find themselves in is this: - Immediate need for affordable housing (need to reach 10% threshold for 40B exemption) - Immediate need for revenue (e.g. 100 unit building adds 30 kids to...

Am I reading it wrong? It seems like it's an effective 5.25% interest rate second mortgage, not exactly nothing...

You are correct. I was looking at the Feb 10th version, which stated 37 units for the 5-story version. Looks like they changed it between then and the 24th. https://www.winchester.us/DocumentCenter/View/13230/2026-02-10_PB-Meeting-Packet?bidId=

Ok, what I don't understand is how a short-term property tax exemption on IZ units could ever fully subsidize them. Rough math: - $900k market rate unit with $300k subsidy - 1.3% property tax rate exemption on $900k = $11.7k per year - 5% interest rate on $300k subsidy loan = $15k per year...

The final agreement was a $2,000,000 payment in lieu of 5 affordable units. While total unit amount only decreased by 1, unit composition had to be adjusted to make that possible. In my reading of the situation, I think the focus on the 6th-floor issue was not a particularly valid aesthetic...

Good point. I think the big question would be how you square this with 40B and Prop 2 1/2. As it stands, this would create a system where a municipality has to collect 0 property tax from 10% of their units to reach safe-harbor status, and yet somehow not raise tax revenue more than 2.5% per...

Not quite accurate. You're looking at the original drawings that compared the 2022 and 2025 versions. The recent debate that led to final approval was based around the 2025 version (the thinner building) with 5 or 6 stories.

I think you're missing what I'm saying. Everyone would not win. Municipal tax dollars are not play-money funbucks. I am fine with extraneous developer profits, but not when they are coming from the pockets of taxpayers. We could get the same amount of housing built out with less subsidy...

I don't know if this is the way to go for Massachusetts. If IZ requirements suddenly dropped to 0 (by being 100% subsidized by municipalities), we would end up with a wave of developers making profits hand-over-fist for a decade before supply stabilized as market rate rents decreased to the cost...

Special permit approved for 10 Converse Place (renamed 33 Mount Vernon St). This permit is for a revised proposal, with only 5 stories and 37 units compared to the prior 6-story 38-unit version...

Bro you're using quadruple exclamation points and anger emojis. That's like definitionally popping off. Chill out.

The Chelsea/Everett developments are looking particularly filled out now

A bit of a non sequitur, but does anyone happen to know the history of all those plus-sign-shaped condos in the background of that picture? There are a number of condo developments littered with that same distinctive shape and roof color around the Commonwealth, both in the Ashland area and up...

Cool, but people don't fly. From the closest point on the property, it's a 0.8 mile walk along 4-lane roads. You cannot tell me anyone would willingly walk or bike this route unless they had no other option.

The dormer treatment and shingled mansard look way better than the renders. Great to see!

Glad they were able to downsize from 42 parking spaces to 35. Such a convenient walkable location next to a Fairmount line stop.

Munich S-Bahn pulls something like 30 tph on two tracks through its center, and while that's definitely straining capacity, I don't see how you couldn't get at least 40 tph from a quad-track tunnel with good ops. Agree with you on all of these, my calculus was pretty much just that, as much as...

Has anyone ever considered the tunnel through Everett as an extension of the commuter rail? I know it sounds insane, but if we had a world with electrified commuter rail service and the 4-tracked NSRL, there would be additional capacity on the north side of the NSRL, probably to the tune of...

I don't imagine the traffic within Dover or any other exurb would become unmanageable, but if you put an extra few hundred thousand commuters on the road, it would be hell for the highways. Park-and-rides could solve that for inner core commutes, but 128 commuting could be 24-hour gridlock. In...

Anyone have thoughts on the Legalize Starter Homes ballot initiative? As much as I'd like to be in favor of more open zoning policy, it feels like this will not lead to conscious development. 5000sqft lots (~8 units/acre) are pretty much right in that sweet spot for maximizing pain: not dense...