The sprawling town of Plymouth, MA, situated on the state’s South Shore, is many things at once.
It’s been called “America’s Hometown.” It’s considered both part of the greater Boston area and the beginning of legendary Cape Cod. And now it’s another front in the ongoing battle to create truly affordable housing in the United States; though, “affordable” is a term that’s in the eye of the beholder.
Many agree that Plymouth desperately needs truly affordable housing. The fight is over whether the state’s Chapter 40B program actually delivers it, and whether it’s possible to maintain Plymouth’s charm while allowing it to continue developing into, potentially, a coastal gem.
Can there be such a thing as building affordable housing that makes everyone, from existing residents to relative newcomers to local government, happy?
The state of affordable housing in Plymouth
According to Plymouth’s Select Board, which functions as the town’s executive branch, Plymouth has constructed more than 4,500 housing units over the past eight years. Yet Select Board members have said that a new development, which is able to bypass the town’s control, is similar to a “hostile takeover.”
“Plymouth desperately needs truly affordable housing,” Select Board member Deb Iaquinto wrote to Realtor.com® in an email. But she argues the latest proposals under the state’s Chapter 40B program won’t deliver what the town actually needs.
The development in question is proposed by Pulte Homes: 163 condominium units on two lots totaling less than 10 acres in what officials describe as an already congested North Plymouth neighborhood. The projects would join more than 1,000 other units built or approved through 40B in recent years, part of a state program designed to increase affordable housing across Massachusetts.
The catch-22 of 40B
Massachusetts’ Chapter 40B program requires that 10% of the housing stock in each municipality be designated as affordable. To incentivize developers, projects that include 20% to 25% affordable units can bypass local zoning regulations, including restrictions on lot size and density.
The problem, according to Plymouth officials, is that the state ties pricing for these affordable units to income levels in the greater Boston area, which are significantly higher than average incomes in Plymouth.
“As a result, rents for these units in Plymouth actually are as much (sometimes more than) market rate units,” Iaquinto explained.
In addition, Iaquinto argued that the site of the development does not have the infrastructure to support a project of this size.
“We’re not opposed to density, as long as it’s in a location that has the infrastructure to support it and it complements the neighborhood. Good design is all it takes!” she said.
This isn’t your great-great-great-grandma’s Plymouth
Plymouth has been in existence since the 1600s and is, by area, the largest town in Massachusetts—so big it can take 40 minutes to drive from one end to the other on the highway. Despite its significance as the pilgrims’ landing site and the symbolic birthplace of American Thanksgiving, it was for decades primarily a blue-collar summer town where restaurants downtown struggled to stay open through the winter.
Peter Zheutlin, a journalist who moved to Plymouth a year ago and writes for the local Plymouth Independent newspaper, describes the area to outsiders as “flyover country”—a place people pass through between Boston and Cape Cod.
That’s changed dramatically in recent years, says Zheutlin, driven in part by two massive planned communities: Pine Hills and Redbrook. These developments tend to attract affluent retirees and empty nesters, he says—contributing to a change in the character of Plymouth, which has deep blue-collar roots as a hub of rope-making, fishing, and shipping.
But Zheutlin sees immense potential: The waterfront views, where you can spy whales and dolphins, are spectacular. The town has a philharmonic orchestra, an arts center that books major acts, and a growing restaurant scene.
However, says Zheutlin, “There are properties really close to the waterfront that are derelict.
“Is Plymouth on the verge of being like the next Portland, ME, or Portsmouth, NH?” he asks, referencing other small East Coast cities that have become hip destinations. “Plymouth could be headed in the same direction.”
This mix of potential and decay, of affluent newcomers and working longtime residents, sets the stage for Plymouth’s current housing tensions.
Can locals afford to stay?
Jane Coit, a real estate broker who has worked in Plymouth for 26 years, sees the disconnect and distance firsthand. She works with young buyers—often first-time homebuyers—who are now stretching to pay for homes in the area.
Between mortgage payments, private mortgage insurance, and the cost of necessary repairs, homeownership has become an expensive proposition even for those with steady incomes.
“Plymouth used to be a very affordable town to live in, and it’s really become like the new Cohasset or Scituate,” says Coit. “It’s a coastal town, and there’s been a lot of people that have come in and invested.”
The numbers back this up: In September 2025, the median home listing price in Plymouth was $749,500, up from $549,900 in 2023.
Yet the state’s “affordable housing” designation hasn’t kept pace with that transformation.
“The cost of affordable housing in Plymouth is still high,” Coit says. “It’s not cheap housing.”
For Coit, the issue is that truly affordable housing should serve the next generation of Plymouth residents.
“That’s basically our kids buying it, right?” she says. “So they can stay in this town.”
When growth creates strain
In a June 2025 letter to the state opposing the Pulte projects, Select Board members detailed just how much Plymouth has already built. The list includes The Oasis 40B (320 rental units), The Walk 40B (320 rental units), and Kanso Plymouth 40B (a town-supported project of 300 units currently under review).
“This unprecedented growth has placed considerable strain on Town services and threatens the Town’s ability to provide critical life/safety support to the community,” the letter states. “The 911 call volume at these locations far outpaces any projections, causing both the Fire Chief and Police Chief to rethink their deployment strategies.”
The letter requests a “well-deserved pause” to allow town services to catch up with demand.
For Coit, the issue isn’t growth itself; it’s how the town manages it.
“A lot of them have been running this town the way it was run 30 years ago, and it needs to change, because their mentality is resistant toward change,” Coit says of town leadership. “I think we need a hired mayor that is elected and that can do a job and be accountable.”
She argues that when the town resists development, “we end up getting things that we didn’t want”—referring to projects such as The Oasis, which she says became an apartment complex after the town rejected a developer’s proposal for single-family homes.
“That’s where the resistance hurts us,” Coit says. “To work with developers so that it is something that’s beneficial for the people that live here and the kids that grew up here.”
Building toward a different future
There’s a twist in Plymouth’s story: The town is trying to build its way out from under 40B’s requirements. Once a community reaches the 10% affordable housing threshold, it enters what’s called “safe harbor”—meaning it can deny 40B projects without state override. According to Iaquinto, the town is near that threshold.
The distinction matters because not all 40B projects follow the same path. Some developers work collaboratively with towns on design and mitigation measures. Others, operating within their legal rights under the program, take a more aggressive approach.
Plymouth is also pursuing other strategies, including a proposed land bank that would allow the town to proactively purchase land for housing, open space, and municipal use—rather than always reacting to developer proposals. That plan currently awaits state legislative approval.
Who gets to call Plymouth home?
What’s clear from talking to people across Plymouth is that nobody is opposed to affordable housing in principle. The disagreement is about process, pace, and whether the current system achieves its stated goal.
Coit, despite her frustrations with town leadership, acknowledges the challenge.
“It’s hard to have both,” she says when asked whether Plymouth can preserve its character while accommodating growth. But she believes the North Plymouth area targeted by Pulte “needs this growth” and that “whatever they do there will be amazing.”
For his part, Zheutlin sees the tensions as part of Plymouth’s evolution.
“Change is inevitable anywhere,” he says. “You just have to embrace it and make sure that you have a voice in it.”
As one of America’s oldest towns, Plymouth has seen about as much change as any single place in the country. In this latest chapter of the town’s history, Plymouth is grappling with whether its current system can deliver truly affordable housing, or whether it will continue building its way toward a goal that keeps moving further out of reach.
