To the editor,
‘The Somerville News Weekly’
Sir,
We are facing an attrition of affordable housing in the city. The affordable housing inclusionary regulations only include new construction, not the renovation of existing multi-family complexes into ‘Luxury apartments”.
An example of this is the purchase last year of “The Chadwick” in Orchard St. Some 23 long term residents of this 4 story apartment building were told their rents would triple because the building was to be repackaged into Luxury units.
They were all displaced the building was gutted and is being rebuilt. With the discussion on a transfer fee to help affordable housing being discussed we are seeing a loss as existing affordable buildings get ‘redeveloped’ into expensive housing. A simple and obvious answer is to include renovated multi-unit buildings in the ‘affordable’ inclusion to protect affordable renters from rapacious developers.
Alan Bingham
Day St
Somerville