In a 2022 Health and Human Services survey of seniors in Needham, respondents expressed their concerns about housing options for the town’s elderly population. The report summary described Needham’s limited and costly housing as the “most seemingly intractable challenge faced by older residents.” Another study, the 2024 National Community Survey, found that just 51% of Needhamites believe the town is a good place in which to retire.
Colleen Schaller, chair of the Needham Council on Aging board of directors, recently echoed that assessment. “Housing is the main challenge,” she said. She regularly hears from residents who find it hard to downsize from the houses in which they raised their families due to the lack of affordable and apartment-style options in the community where they’ve often spent much of their lives. Although their homes have become much more valuable, seemingly creating a lot of wealth, they find the places where they could relocate are similarly priced.
“Many times, older adults are transitioning to a fixed income and understanding if it’s feasible for them to stay in their home,” said Jessica Moss, assistant director of counseling and volunteers for the Council on Aging. “Are they able to maintain their home on that income, or with physical or cognitive challenges that can come with aging? What does moving look like? We help them understand the network that’s out there to support them.”
Senior issues are often interconnected. For example, staying in a single-family home but losing mobility can lead to social isolation. “We really focus on mental health and well-being,” said Moss, “especially since the pandemic.”
Sue Mullaney, a retired geriatric nurse practitioner and board member of the Center at the Heights, recently made the case before the town’s finance committee for more professional help. She said housing is a challenge, mentioning that some are surprised to face the possibility of homelessness. “The tasks are providing one-to-one, free counseling services for seniors who are facing social isolation, who are facing loneliness, who are facing depression,” she said. “The fastest growing rate of suicide is among men over 85. The amount of alcohol abuse is very high in seniors, you know. And the list goes on.”
At the CATH, a group of local seniors spoke to the challenges they face taking care of their homes, such as simple maintenance. No longer able to mow the lawn, make repairs around the house and clean their homes, older adults rely on service companies for these tasks, which can rack up costs.
Accessibility presents another challenge. For older residents, stairs can become a deciding factor. Jeanne McKnight, a former Planning Board and Housing Needham Advisory Group member and a resident of the Rosemary Ridge condominiums, shared her experience searching for local housing with her husband after their children moved away. The longtime Needhamites were able to find a unit in one of the town’s two condominium complexes with elevators. “Lucky us!” she exclaimed at a recent public hearing. “We started looking at Norwood. We didn’t think we’d find anything here.”
Schaller and McKnight view the MBTA Communities Act as part of the solution. The MBTA Communities Act, which became law in Massachusetts in 2021, seeks to expand multifamily housing within a half-mile radius of transit stations. The law aims to increase the state’s housing stock amid the regional housing crisis and pursue long-term transportation and climate goals.
But it may be a long time before the law, which changes zoning but does not require any actual construction, has a direct impact on options for seniors — or anyone else.
To address the issue of cost, the town has committed to requiring that 12.5% of new multifamily housing in buildings with 6 or more units must be affordable, or requiring no more than 80% of a resident’s income. Schaller said these units would represent a viable option for many seniors looking to stay in town. But even that option raised fears among several of the seniors at the Center at the Heights. One said he worried that low-cost housing could result in an influx of “refugees” to Needham and that building apartments would “turn it into Brighton.”
Accessory Dwelling Units
Another potential option to address the issue is accessory dwelling units — separate apartments on existing single-family house lots. In 2023, Needham amended its ADU bylaw to allow the addition of these units without a special-permitting process and owners to rent them out.
These apartments would allow seniors to stay in their home while receiving a supplemental income from an ADU; downsize into the ADU while renting out their house; live with family members; or house a caregiver.
The as-of-right zoning change, however, applies only to ADUs attached to the principal unit.
In a public policy statement, Schaller wrote that the Council on Aging strongly supports the by-right ADU bylaw, detached accessory dwelling units, and “flexibility about who can live in such units, including a renter.”
When asked whether detached ADUs should also be approved by-right, the group at the CATH pushed back, citing worries about the aesthetics of the separate buildings. Nevertheless, they were excited about how the easing of ADU restrictions could benefit the elderly.
Needham resident Julia Montgomery is a student at Middlebury College
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