Worcester developer proposes 98-unit affordable housing project
Photo | Courtesy of Worcester Planning Board | Rendering by LYFarchitects of Andover
A proposed housing development on Mason Street in Worcester
Kensington Management, LLC submitted a proposal to the City of Worcester for a seven-story, 98-unit affordable housing development on Mason Street in Worcester.
The Worcester-based developer and property manager submitted plans for the development on a vacant lot at 48 Mason St. to the Worcester Planning Board. Mark Borenstein of Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, LLP is representing the developer.
The development will consist of a mix of one-to-three-bedroom apartments, with five% of the units being accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The developer is seeking relief from a zoning ordinance requiring 104 parking spaces. The plan proposes to provide 66 spaces.
The Worcester Planning Board will address the matter at its May 3 meeting. The Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals will hear the proposal at its April 24 meeting.
Worcester faces a housing shortage and many renters in the region are cost burdened according to a Worcester Regional Research Bureau Report.
New large-scale residential developments have been proposed in Worcester over the past year, but many only offer market-rate units.
The Worcester City Council on April 11 approved an inclusionary zoning policy which requires developers to reserve 15 percent of units as affordable for people making 80% of area median income or 10% for people making 60% of area median income.
Housing advocates say the policy, likely to be made an ordinance in May, does not go far enough. Supporters of the policy feel that it strikes a balance between the need for affordable housing and keeping the city attractive to developers.
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Affordable in Worcester is a joke. We need rent control.
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