WESTBOROUGH – After months of work sessions and meetings, a proposal to develop 1 Gleason St. appears no closer to a resolution.
During its June 6 meeting, the Planning Board continued the public hearing on whether to modify a special permit for Village Commons.
In October 2022, Ansari presented plans for Hana Place at 190-212 Oak St. It would include two separate buildings for a total of 12 townhouse units, including six one-bedroom and six two-bedroom; 27 off-street parking spaces; a septic system; and a dumpster with enclosure.
The town would like Ansari to not develop this site, which is near the district courthouse; instead, Ansari would be allowed to build 18 additional units at the 1 Gleason St. site.
The Oak Street site would be donated to the town as open space.
Developer Farooq Ansari presented his latest plans – 18 units across three detached townhouses of three floors each, with 21 parking spaces. Units would be mostly studios, with some one- and two-bedrooms.
Ansari proposed removing some parking spaces to create more green space.
“Nothing huge has changed,” he said.
Members of the Planning Board suggested “pulling” the units into the space for a proposed commercial building and adding a fourth floor.
Ansari cited a “cost factor” in keeping to his “concept plan” for the site. He said that adding a fourth floor would mean installing elevators, which would add to the expense.
“I’ve lost eight or nine months working on this,” he said.
Planning Board Mark Silverberg expressed his frustration with Ansari’s plans.
“There’s no creativity to this plan,” he said. “I feel we’re back to where we were eight months ago.”
The board voted to continue the public hearing to Tuesday, June 20. Silverberg also recommended another work session with Ansari and his team.
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