17-27 Upton Road plans get Planning Board approval

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17-27 Upton Road plans get Planning Board approval
The former Highway Department home will soon become the site of a fourstory multifamily development. (Photo/Tami White)

GRAFTON – After months of discussions that got contentious at times, the Planning Board has approved a special permit and site plan review for a four-story, multifamily residential building at 17 and 27 Upton Road.

The vote on Monday, Sept. 23, was 4-1, with member Greg Dalle Molle voting against.

“There will be a few people who will not be happy,” said member Robert Hassinger.

Hassinger added that the board had to approve the special permit and site plans because the applicant complied with the town’s zoning bylaws. Had the board voted to refuse the special permit, “we’d get sued,” he said.

The building, to be called the Griffin, will occupy the former home of the town’s Highway Department. It will consist of 122 units with 183 parking spaces; 25 of those spaces will be in a covered parking garage.

The barn will be preserved and used for tenant storage. There will also be outdoor space for private amenities such as two pickleball courts, a bocce court, a community garden space and a shaded gathering area.

Current housing plans call for 16 studio apartments, 80 one-bedroom units, and 26 two-bedroom units, totaling 148 bedrooms distributed among the 122 units. Thirty-one units (25%) will be affordable housing for income-eligible tenants earning income up to 80% of the area median income. 

Over the summer, the Planning Board heard lots of comments for and against the project.

Those in favor discussed the need for affordable housing in town, as well as a desire to clean up what some consider an eyesore.

“This site is a mess,” said Bill McCusker of the Zoning Board of Appeals. “It’s going to blend right in.”

Resident Colleen Roy cited the nearly $900,000 in tax revenue the project could bring to the town.

Some detractors were concerned about the increase in traffic from the project, especially around the center of town.

“I am in favor of adding affordable housing as well as using the former Grafton Highway Department site; however, I have concerns about this project as it is proposed,” said resident Daniel Horan. “My concerns stem from the scale of this project and the impact it will have on pedestrian traffic in and around the common. It feels like this developer is trying to squeeze as many full-price units in to offset the 30 affordable units this will add.”

Some abutters are also concerned about how the project could affect adjacent wetlands.

“Anyone who has driven down North Street during a major rainfall has seen the high-speed river that flows from the park, from behind my house [and out of my sump pump], and floods the street,” said Jennifer Cardarelli, who lives on North Street. “I am concerned that even a slight increase in runoff, combined with the increasing intensity of storms, will compound an already significant problem.”

Bill Nicholson, a member of the town’s Historical Commission, said “the plan is totally inappropriate” because of its height. 

“It doesn’t look like it fits the character” of the town center, he said.

According to Town Planner Fiona Coughlin, the application will need to go through the 20-day appeal period.

After that, “They will then apply for permits for construction with the Building Department,” with the intention of starting construction this fall, she said.

For more information on the project, visit https://grafton-ma.gov/1062/17-27-Upton-Street—1727-Upton-Street-L

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