A couple of updates I found in this week’s Boston Courant: * A public meeting regarding plans to build a 1140-bed residence hall for college students and faculty behind the YMCA on Huntington Ave will be held this Wednesday, May 30th, at the YMCA. * Someone has proposed building a new three-family townhouse at 38-40 [...]

The National Association of Realtors “has sought enactment of an income tax credit or similar tax incentive for developing entry level and affordable housing. NAR also supports an incentive for employers to provide a down payment assistance fringe benefit to their employees and to assure that employees will not be taxed on any cash or [...]

The Herald profiles The Meads, a new luxury building at the edge of Back Bay. Originally built as two single-family homes, the double structure was designed by architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, which designed the Boston Public Library. The structure features wrought-iron princess balconies, arched windows topped with engraved medallions and an Ionic-columned granite [...]

I spoke too soon. New York City got Duck Tours this week. (Except they call them “Splash” Tours.) Oh, how have they been able to live without them???

The following information is from the local MLS database, as of May 19, 2007, compared to (last week). Total # of condos for sale in the city of Boston: 2,700 (2,567) Average # of days on market: 110 (113) Median price of all condos for sale in the city of Boston: $399,000 ($399,000) Average price [...]

BeeHive Harvard Commons

The Commonwealth has attempted to persuade (and/or force) towns and cities to build more affordable housing by passing legislation such as “Chapter 40B”, “Chapter 40R” and “Chapter 40S”. Almost every town and city has resisted. And/or, found clever ways around the regulations. For example, Boxford, Massachusetts. Boxford is a small town on the North Shore [...]

I couldn’t think of a better headline, sorry. The rich folk down in Nantucket are fighting local fishermen for the right to protect their homes from a rapidly encroaching sea. At the center of the dispute is a small patch of beach on the southeast corner of the island known as Siasconset, or Sconset for [...]

I seem to remember hearing someone say once that the Boston City Council only debated what they read in the Boston Globe the day before. The same can be said for our local and state governments, apparently. Several months ago, New York City passed a law outlawing the use of trans-fat in restaurant food. Several [...]