CHATHAM — Disposing of Saturday’s special town meeting in about 36 minutes, voters unanimously rejected a zoning bylaw change linked to the redevelopment of the Monomoy Theatre property. Worried about the density and traffic that the project would create, and without any guarantee that a restored theater building would ever operate the way Monomoy Theatre did, 324 voters unanimously turned down the zoning byla...

ORLEANS — The Governor Prence Inn on Route 6A, which did not open this season, could be acquired by the town for housing and other uses. Select Board Chair Kevin Galligan made the announcement at his board’s Sept. 16 meeting. Earlier this year, the town was approached by the Ross family, which owns the Governor Prence as well as the nearby Seashore Park Inn; the latter was open this summer. In July Gov. Pren...

Quarter Of Rental Units Will Be Affordable EAST HARWICH — Developer Chris Wise received the preliminary endorsement of the town’s housing committee Monday for a housing project containing 100-units, a quarter of which will be affordable. Earlier this year, Wise received planning board approval for a 10-lot subdivision for the 12.27-acre parcel along Route 137 between Hall’s Path and Sherwood Road. His inten...

When it comes to housing, child care, hunger and the wealth gap, COVID-19 has exposed and worsened existing problems on Cape Cod. That was the conclusion of a panel of experts who met in a virtual “State of Cape Cod” session last week. From an economic standpoint, things may not seem too different this summer, but looks can be deceiving, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Wendy Northcross said. Th...

CHATHAM — At least part of a 19-acre tract of town-owned land off Middle Road should be used for affordable and attainable housing, selectmen said last week. But board members appear to be split on whether to use the whole parcel for housing, or to hold some of the land in reserve for other potential uses. Meeting last week, the board voted unanimously to ask staff to develop a plan for using a portion of th...

HARWICH — The Bob Murray Housing with Love Walk will be a virtual marathon this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is also driving a more than 200 percent increase in requests for emergency help for families across the Cape. For 28 years the Housing with Love Walk has been raising funds for a number of housing assistance organizations on the Cape and focusing on relocating families from motel units i...

HARWICH — The affordable housing trust will contribute $37,800 to the housing authority's rental assistance program to ensure funding is available as the new fiscal year begins. The housing authority is seeking $200,000 in Community Preservation Act funds for the program in the annual town meeting. Because the session was put off until Sept. 28 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the funds won't be available until t...

HARWICH — Due to the high cost of moving and rehabilitating a Victorian house that once served as the rectory and later the thrift shop at Holy Trinity Church, the affordable housing trust has decided not to pursue the building as affordable housing. The Roman Catholic Diocese has plans to remove the building, constructed in 1914 on the west side of the church on Route 28 in West Harwich. The structure has bee...

“I spent many years in Central America dealing with destruction — when I retired I became involved with construction,” said Joe Towle, a Maryknoll Priest who lives in Harwich Port, during a lunch break at the Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod’s recent building project on Paul Hush Way off Tubman Road in Brewster. Having dealt with the harmful products of corrupt government, criminal activity and poverty in seve...

CHATHAM – Each year for the past five years on the first sunny day in May, ideally a Monday, the folks at A Great Yarn hang knitted blankets in vibrant hues and intricate patterns from the sides of the building, but it’s not just a colorful treat for passersby. The annual “yarn bomb” celebrates another successful year of donating the handmade treasures to people facing homelessness. The yarn bombing began in 2...

ORLEANS — The town’s affordable housing trust entered “final negotiations” with Cape Abilities to purchase outright a 1.25-acre property at 107 Main St. that could be developed as affordable rental apartments, trust chairman Alan McClennen confirmed last week. The proposed purchase was on the agenda of the board of selectmen, whose approval is required, in an executive session held last night (April 29). At th...

CHATHAM — Voters at the next annual town meeting will be asked to reserve the town-owned house at 127 Old Harbor Rd., formerly the water department offices, for affordable housing. But it’s not clear whether any specific plan is on the table for doing so. In 1971, a special town meeting voted to accept the property as a gift from the late Marion Nickerson Ellis, with the provision that the property be designat...

HARWICH — The Royal Apartment presentation to the planning board has raised an interesting dynamic related to dwelling unit density in Harwich Center versus the need for additional workforce housing. The project presented to the board last week seeks to convert the former nursing home/assisted living facility and senior day care center on the corner of Bank and Parallel streets into a 26-unit apartment complex...

HARWICH — The affordable housing committee is looking to put its first housing project in place to demonstrate the abilities of the recently installed affordable housing trust to develop housing. The group received some good news from a due diligence assessment conducted by Bohler Engineering on behalf of the Massachusetts Housing Partnership. The company conducted an assessment of the 265 Sisson Rd. property,...

CHATHAM — For 24-year-old Summer Fulcher, her husband Jimmylee and their two young children, New Year’s Day will be more than just the start of a new year. It’s the beginning of a new life. The four will be moving into a new home on Crowell Road, the newest addition to an innovative housing program in town. “It’ll be perfect,” Summer said. Because it’s New Year’s Day, both she and her husband get the day of...

HARWICH — Royal Apartments, LLC is proposing to convert the former Royal of Harwich Village assisted living facility at the corner of Bank and Parallel streets into 26 apartments. The conversion from the former assisted living facility to multifamily use proposes no exterior changes to the building and minimal reconfiguration to the interior of the existing structure. In plans filed with the planning board, th...