Falmouth Select Board Looks To Overhaul Strategic Planning Process Be Bolder With Goal Setting; Include Public, Consultant, Other Town Boards
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By DEVIN ANKENEY
June 10, 2025
By hiring a consultant and taking more than a partial-day workshop to discuss strategic planning, the Select Board and Town Manager Michael Renshaw want to better incentivize setting and achieving their long-term goals.
The Select Board talked about setting a new planning process during its meeting on June 3. Renshaw called the prospective process more of a “deep dive,” allowing the town and a potential consultant to prevent long-term goals from “collecting dust.”
Read Full Article
Assembly Of Delegates Declare Housing Crisis On Cape Cod
The Enterprise – Bourne
By Jamie Perkins
Apr 17, 2025
On Wednesday, April 16, the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates voted to pass a resolution declaring a housing crisis on Cape Cod. According to the resolution, the median price of single-family homes on Cape Cod has increased by 62% in four years, from $449,000 in 2019 to $730,000 in 2023. A working family must earn 245% of the area’s median income to afford a median-priced new home. Read Full Article
Rents more affordable on Cape than buying a house: What salary needed?
Cape Cod Times
Zane Razzaq
April 3, 2025
Cape Cod residents are in a housing logjam. Aspiring homeowners who grew up on Cape Cod can’t afford a house — or are faced with a fixer-upper without the spare money for a renovation — and older residents are stuck in houses they’ve outgrown.
The median household income in all 15 Cape Cod towns falls short of the six-figure amount needed to comfortably purchase a median-priced home here, according to data culled by the Cape Cod Commission published earlier this year. Read Full Article
Here’s how much you need to earn to buy a house, or rent, in each Cape Cod town
Cape Cod Times
by Zane Razzaq
April 1, 2025
Cape Cod residents are in a housing logjam. Aspiring homeowners who grew up on Cape Cod can’t afford a house — or are faced with a fixer-upper without the spare money for a renovation — and older residents are stuck in houses they’ve outgrown.
The median household income in all 15 Cape Cod towns falls short of the six-figure amount needed to comfortably purchase a median-priced home here, according to data culled by the Cape Cod Commission published earlier this year.
In Chatham — one of the more expensive towns on the Cape —…read more
Falmouth In Perspective: Short-Term Rentals Have A Large Impact On Town
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By ERIC TURKINGTON
Mar 21, 2025
Back in the 1950s, like many other Falmouth families when summer came, the Turkington family went into the lodging business. The “ROOMS” sign went up, and visitors in town for their summer vacation found accommodations for their stay in the Turkington home.
Providing rooms, or whole houses, for summer visitors has been an integral part of the town’s economy for more than 100 years. Today these accommodations are termed short-term rentals, and almost all nowadays are booked on Airbnb and similar websites.
The state Department of Revenue reports that currently Falmouth has 1,589 such…read more
Commission’s $1.2M Housing Strategy Offers Seven Non-Starters
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By ERIC T. TURKINGTON
Mar 31, 2025
Housing, or the lack of it, is a top topic of concern at every level of government. Almost a year ago, the Cape Cod Commission unveiled its contribution to the conversation, titled “Housing Cape Cod: The Regional Strategy.”
The product of a two-year planning process, funded with almost $1.2 million in Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, this 98-page product sets forth a dizzying array of statistics, projections, charts, graphs, suggested funding mechanisms and recommended policy proposals.
Half of the recommendations are hardly new. Changing zoning, streamlining permitting, financing housing for middle-income households,…read more
Mass. just became the most expensive place to be middle class. Do you qualify?
Boston.com
By Peter Chianca
March 20, 2025
Achieving middle class status was once the personification of the American dream. Unfortunately, it seems that these days the middle class in Massachusetts is a lot less “middle” than it was back in the 1950s.
According to a new study by financial technology company SmartAsset, Massachusetts is now the most expensive state in the country for middle-class living, overtaking New Jersey. (Of all places.)
According to the study, as of 2023 a Massachusetts household needed income between $66,565 and $199,716 to be considered middle class — that’s up from $62,986 to $188,976 the year before. By comparison, if you were…read more
Soaring rents squeeze Mass. growing rental voucher program
MassLive
Sam Drysdale | State House News Service
Mar. 11, 2025
The state budget line item for a safety net rental voucher program has grown significantly in recent years, but housing advocates say Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to boost it an additional 16% in fiscal 2026 only keeps up with inflation due to sky-high housing prices. The governor proposed funding the Mass. Rental Voucher Program, which offers rental assistance to low-income families, at $253 million in fiscal year 2026, up from $219 million this year. Read Full Article
Housing Inside Out: Standing Watch In Safe Harbor
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By LAURA M. MOYNIHAN
Jan 24, 2025
Safe Harbor status in Massachusetts gives a municipality more control over 40B affordable housing developments when 10 percent of its housing stock is affordable or the state has certified housing production plan efforts. Falmouth reached Safe Harbor this summer. Safe Harbor means more regulation of housing development to protect local interests, but it has notable disadvantages.
Achieving Safe Harbor can reduce the pressure to approve new affordable housing developments and negate the necessity of addressing deeper housing needs. The strict 10 percent measure used to decide Safe Harbor status does not reflect actual…read more
A New Standard In Affordable Housing – Editorial
The Enterprise – Falmouth
Nov 15, 2024
The new senior affordable housing complex at the corner of Scranton Avenue and Main Street is a thing of beauty.
From its varied roofline and façade details (including a clock tower) to its well-appointed units and common areas (which include a putting green and a roof-top deck) and from its location within walking distance of a market, the senior center and the recreation center to its reuse of a previously developed parcel, this project has set a new standard for what affordable housing can be.
Looking at this three-story building and its 48 rental units, which are…read more
Residents Move Into Main Street Senior Apartments
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By KATIE NELSON
Nov 8, 2024
Residents have begun moving into the new senior affordable housing complex at the corner of Scranton Avenue and Main Street. The three-story facility features 48 one-bedroom and studio apartments for residents of age 62 and older. Of the apartments, 16 will be reserved for people making below 60 percent of the area median income, which is $48,000 for a one-person household. They will pay $1,295 in rent, with utilities included. The remaining apartments will be for people making below 30 percent of the median income, or $24,000.
In an opening ceremony held Monday, November…read more
Town-by-town map: See where median home prices have risen the most
The Boston Gobe
By Christina Prignano and Andrew Nguyen, Globe Staff
June 3, 2024
It’s no secret that home prices have soared to new heights in Greater Boston. But most of the towns in Massachusetts that have seen the fastest rise in home prices in recent years aren’t actually inside Route 128.
Town-by-town median home sale price data provided by The Warren Group, a real estate information firm, offer a bird’s eye view of recent trends. The data show that in the past five years, prices have risen the most in towns outside Greater Boston.
Just west of Worcester, Spencer saw its median home sale…read more
Cape Cod Commission Releases Regional Housing Strategy
The Enterprise – Bourne
By MICHAEL J. RAUSCH
May 23, 2024
The Cape Cod Commission has released a regional plan for addressing the Cape’s housing crisis. The report, titled “Housing Cape Cod: The Regional Strategy,” offers strategies and recommendations designed to solve the crisis, including zoning changes and the establishment of regional supports such as a land trust, housing land bank and housing services office.
In a news release dated Wednesday, May 22, the commission described the document as identifying “policies and strategies for appropriate housing development and redevelopment.” The document focuses on addressing “housing supply, affordability, and availability challenges while protecting the region’s…read more
Affordable Housing Leaders Gather To Present Their Focus, Projects And Plans
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By TAYLOR FRUZZETTI
May 14, 2024
Local housing agencies held a forum last week to explain the work they do and how they provide opportunities for housing assistance for those in need.
Representatives at the forum included Housing Assistance Corporation Director of Community Engagement Jennifer Cullum, Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod Director of Land Acquisition and Project Development Beth Wade, Falmouth Land Trust Executive Director Laura Moynihan and Falmouth Housing Authority Director Bobbi Richards. Read Full Article
Housing, Farming And Outdoor Recreation Highlighted As CPC Funding Needs
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By NOELLE ANNONEN
May 14, 2024
The Falmouth Community Preservation Committee was urged last week to continue funding affordable housing even after the town reaches “safe harbor” in order to help preserve land for farmland and housing for farmers and to assist the YMCA in building outdoor recreation areas at its proposed facility in town… Read Full Article
A Real Estate Transfer Fee Makes Sense
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By David Garrison (Guest Commentary)
Mar 29, 2024
Falmouth needs a real estate transfer fee. Why?
With each passing day, the lack of affordable housing grows more pronounced for a variety of individuals and families who seek to live in town and have incomes ranging from relatively low levels on up to above the area median. This threat to the quality of life in our town is an existential one. We need an “all hands on deck” level of effort from our town government and the various private and public organizations that provide affordable housing.
In recent years, Falmouth has taken…read more
Work On Falmouth Main Street Senior Housing 70 Percent Complete
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By Elizabeth Saito
Mar 8, 2024
With close to 50 workers on the job site every day, the senior affordable housing complex on the corner of Scranton Avenue and Main Street is galloping toward its targeted August occupancy date.
On Wednesday, March 6, the Enterprise took a tour with Linda Clark, director of the Falmouth Housing Corporation, to get a look inside the three-story building, now a prominent feature in the downtown landscape… Read Article
Housing Plan Chock-Full Of Interesting Stats
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By ELIZABETH SAITO
February 23, 2024
The town’s newly released draft housing production plan is bursting with data on Falmouth’s housing, population and economic profile.
Seven housing production goals are proposed, along with 22 strategies for achieving them, including giving tax breaks to landlords who rent their properties year round.
Read full article to view stats. Read Article
2023 – 7th Annual Kirwin/Murray Tour de Falmouth
Thank you to all who helped make this year’s ride so successful!
Architect’s Remarks On Affordable Housing Unfortunate
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By Linda J. Clark (Guest Commentary)
June 30, 2023
It was disturbing to read in last Friday’s Enterprise that a local architect, Jill Neubauer, described Falmouth Housing Corporation’s most recent family housing development, Little Pond Place on Spring Bars Road, as an example of poor design. As the director of the Falmouth Housing Corporation, I would guess that Ms. Neubauer has never been to Little Pond Place, a family housing complex. If she had, she would have found a lobby with artwork and comfortable chairs, a well-utilized children’s playground, a soccer field, a community meeting room with an outdoor…read more
Cape Cod Five Building Torn Down For Future Senior Housing
The Enterprise – Falmouth
By KURT ACHIN
Apr 14, 2023
Caution signs and a chain link fence surrounded the corner of Main Street and Scranton Avenue this week, while an excavator tore down the building that formerly housed the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank. The nonprofit Falmouth Housing Corporation intends to replace the bank building with a three-story affordable housing complex for senior citizens.
“We are looking at 15 months’ construction,” said Linda J. Clark, Executive Director at Falmouth Housing Corporation, “so that brings us to July or August of next year.”
The bank building has been vacant for years. Falmouth Housing Corporation…read more
Governor Baker Visits Falmouth To Discuss Affordable Housing
The Falmouth Enterprise
By Calli Remillard
Jul 23, 2021
Governor Charles D. Baker Jr. paid a visit to Little Pond Place yesterday, July 22, to participate in a roundtable discussion with local officials to discuss affordable housing on Cape Cod. Among the participants were Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, Secretary Mike Kennealy, State Senator Susan Moran, Eric T. Turkington Falmouth Housing Corp Board Chair, Phillipe Jordi of the Island Housing Trust and Tara Mizrahi, Executive Vice President of Affirmative Investments Inc. The meeting was held in the community center at Little Pond Place, where Gov. Baker was given a tour of one of the residential…read more
Partner profile: Pandemic didn’t stop Falmouth Housing Corp.
MHP News
May 07, 2021
(Partner Profiles is a new periodic series by MHP that takes a look at people and organizations that are creating affordable housing and making their communities stronger).
FALMOUTH — One of most effective and important local partners MHP works with is the Falmouth Housing Corporation (FHC), which has been addressing the emergency and long-term housing needs of lower-income individuals and families for 25 years.
Founded in 1996, FHC has created 243 affordable apartments during a time when Falmouth’s overall housing production has declined. FHC’s determination to serve Upper Cape households who need it most was evident during the pandemic, as…read more
