Templeton

Hoping to boost housing production in the state, the Gov. Maura Healey Administration has auctioned off four Central Massachusetts state-owned properties to private developers to convert the sites into housing.

The first approved multi-family development in Templeton in a quarter century will break ground in May.

The bulk of the $5.05 million in federal funds were a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in November 2021. 

Overall, Central Massachusetts LEED-certified buildings contributed 1.4 million square feet to Massachusetts’ total, amounting to 6% of the state’s green building square footage. 

The funding jolt from subsidies and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which saw a $20 million increase in the tax package Gov. Maura Healey signed in October, will benefit more than 1,900 housing units.

The Baldwinville School Apartments, a multi-family housing project bringing 54 rental units to the former site of a Templeton elementary school, has received $750,000 in funding.

The former Baldwinville Elementary School in Templeton will be the site of a 54-unit mixed-income apartment community, the first multifamily project permitted in the town in 25 years.

The first half of 2023 was a difficult one for home buyers and for real estate agents as single-family home sales cratered and home prices plateaued high above pre-COVID levels.

California-based Realty Income Corp. has begun acquiring Cumberland Farms locations as part of a $1.5-billion sale-leaseback deal with United Kingdom-based EG Group.

Five Central Massachusetts municipalities were selected to take part in a new program to help them identify and address internet availability and affordability, device access and digital skills gaps in their communities.