Final two 40B proposals presented
By Melissa Muntz Contributing Writer

Shrewsbury - The remaining two Chapter 40B aff ordable housing proposals were presented to the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen July 16. Fairfield Residential, based in Framingham, and AvalonBay Communities Inc. presented two very diff erent proposals that both aim to meet the same goal: providing Shrewsbury with the aff ordable housing development it needs to meet state regulations while addressing local resident concerns and project expectations.

Fairfield Residential

The Fairfield project would consist of 335 residential units and 165,000 square feet of commercial and retail space situated on a mostly undeveloped parcel of land between Route 9, Oak Street and Maple Avenue. The 27-acre site would include 11 acres of mixed residential space and 16 acres of commercial space, and is designed to look like a traditional New England neighborhood using a stone and shingle façade. The current design incorporates three restaurants, several mixeduse commercial, retail and office buildings in a pedestrian friendly town square setting, with 335 rental units in nine buildings.

Fairfield developers said they were attracted to Shrewsbury because of the recent development of the Lakeway Overlay District that allows for the mixeduse development that they described as the wave of the future in housing development.

Fairfield said the development would generate an additional 80,000 gallons of wastewater daily, but that the design could include an on-site treatment facility if needed.

Initial traffic reports show the project would generate an additional 2,150 residential weekday trips per day; 12,300 daily trips due to office and retail portion of the project; and a combined 20,540 trips per weekend day on surrounding roads.

Fairfield representatives said the town should only expect to see 25 to 30 additional K-12 students move to the development.

Avalon at

Shrewsbury Hills

Avalon at Shrewsbury Hills would be a residential development abutting the 675,000-square-foot Cen- Tech Park. The 36.4-acre site would include 444 rental units, with 178 one-bedroom units, 244 two-bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom townhouses in nine buildings.

Of those, 25 percent of the rental units would be designated affordable, bringing Shrewsbury to the required 10 percent needed to meet state mandates.

Representatives for Avalon- Bay Inc. said they chose the location to provide housing for the future workers for CenTech Park and because of its proximity to the Grafton MBTA Commuter Rail Station.

The development would be similar to Avalon Shrewsbury, the company's current Chapter 40B development located off Route 9. Representatives said the town could expect to see an increase of approximately $584,000 to $660,000 in real estate and vehicle excise tax annually, while seeing a minimal impact on town services and quality of life.

The design includes a private, on-site sewage treatment plant and the site's proximity to three main roads, Route 20, Cherry Street and CenTech Boulevard will result in limited traffic increases to the area. Representatives said they expect the new development to bring in about 60 schoolaged children.

Options

A third proposal presented earlier would house 160,000 square feet of commercial and retail space and 420 mixed housing units at the former Spag's location on Route 9.

The Board of Selectmen will now deliberate on the three proposals before selecting any number of finalists to present their proposals to residents during a public hearing Monday Aug. 13 at Town Hall at 7 p.m.

They are expected to select a final proposal to move forward with by Monday Aug. 20 with a final board vote to be completed Monday Aug. 27.