Arlington Redevelopment Board approves 28-unit affordable housing project on Mass Ave

ARLINGTON — March 9, 2026 — Arlington Redevelopment Board clears 28-unit affordable housing building 4-1 against a hard state funding deadline. The board approved docket 3883, a six-story mixed-use building at 840-846 Mass Ave and 17 Newman Way proposed by the Housing Corporation of Arlington, at its March 9 meeting after attorney Mary Wynn Stanley O'Connor warned that a decision after March 19 would cost the project a full year in the state low-income housing tax credit cycle. The 28 rental units will be deed-restricted for households earning up to 60 percent of area median income, with 13 vehicle spaces and long-term parking for 62 bicycles. Board member Rachel Zanberry voted no, arguing the proposed ground-floor uses did not meet the bylaw's commercial mixed-use bonus provision required for the zero-foot front setback; the other four members accepted town counsel's opinion that the Housing Corporation's public-facing programming qualifies as business services. The board attached conditions requiring a material sample board, enhanced commercial-entry signage and lighting, and a requirement that a substantial portion of ground-floor activities be open to community members beyond building residents.