The Latest from CommunityScale
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Launching a Housing Plan for Honolulu
CommunityScale partnered with the City and County of Honolulu to develop a comprehensive, forward-looking housing plan for one of the nation’s most cost-burdened markets. Led by Jeff Sauser with subconsultants Abt Associates and Affordable…
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Climate tech and zoning: you want to do what!? where!?
What happens when a fusion startup that begins with small explosions, a battery maker handling chemical storage, or a green-fuel company drawing heavy grid power tries to find a home in a conventional zoning…
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Launching the Melrose Rezoning Project
CommunityScale launched a rezoning project with the City of Melrose, Massachusetts, working closely with city staff on a comprehensive recodification of the Zoning Ordinance to modernize and streamline laws for the community’s current and…
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Launching a Housing Production Plan for the Town of Lancaster
CommunityScale launched a Housing Production Plan for the Town of Lancaster, Massachusetts with Levine Planning Strategies, aiming for an EOHLC-compliant plan that addresses the town’s housing needs. The methodology combines an in-depth housing needs…
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Income vs house price: How to calculate housing affordability
Determining how much a household can afford to pay for housing depends on far more than income and sale price. Mortgage rates, down payments, and property tax rates all shape the answer. This post…
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Fall River Davol Street Housing Market Analysis
CommunityScale completed the Housing Market Study for the Davol Street Corridor Master Plan in Fall River, Massachusetts, with the Fall River Redevelopment Authority, the City, and Stantec Urban Places. The analysis quantified market demand,…
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Growth is a choice: How housing demand and policy interact to shape the future
While long-term projections may suggest demand is strong and growth is inevitable, often the only way to realize this change is through municipal action with public support. As such, to be useful for practical…
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2024 is a busy year for the MBTA Communities Zoning Law in Massachusetts
Of the 177 Massachusetts communities required by the MBTA Communities law to adopt a by-right multifamily district, 130 faced a 2024 deadline, with twelve due in 2023 and the remaining 35 in 2025. CommunityScale…
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CommunityScale begins Housing Needs Assessment for the City of Alexandria, VA
CommunityScale has begun work on a Housing Needs Assessment for Alexandria, Virginia, a foundational step toward updating the City’s 2013 Housing Master Plan. A great deal has changed since that plan was written, but…
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Thoughts on how Everett became a housing boomtown in the Boston area
A Boston Globe article showed how Everett permitted housing at the fastest rate in Greater Boston, adding 16 percent more housing units between 2015 and 2021. Much of that growth took shape in the…
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CommunityScale joins MHP to assist the Town of Wakefield with MBTA Communities compliance
CommunityScale and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) have entered into an agreement to provide technical assistance to the Town of Wakefield for MBTA Communities compliance. Our collaboration with MHP and Wakefields builds on our…
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Dedham MBTA Communities Zoning
CommunityScale worked with the Town of Dedham’s staff and Planning Board to craft MBTA Communities compliant zoning, one of 175 Massachusetts communities subject to the law because three commuter rail stations sit within its…
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CommunityScale writing MBTA Communities zoning for Town of Duxbury
The Town of Duxbury has selected CommunityScale to support its pursuit of compliance with the Massachusetts MBTA Communities Law, known as 3A. CommunityScale will draft multi-family zoning for the South Shore town of 16,000…
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CommunityScale kicks off a housing needs assessment in Fall River, Massachusetts
CommunityScale has kicked off a comprehensive housing market analysis for Fall River, Massachusetts as part of the Route 79-Davol Street Corridor Improvements project, a transformative initiative to reshape the city’s waterfront. The corridor work…
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Rhode Island Housing Needs Assessments
To help its diverse municipalities confront mounting affordable housing challenges, RIHousing, Rhode Island’s housing finance agency, created a technical assistance program connecting communities with tailored consulting resources. CommunityScale partnered with Stantec Urban Places on…
