SHREWSBURY – Hingham-based developer Saxon Partners is seeking to construct a 300-unit, multi-family housing development at 104 Main St., located in the northwest corner of Shrewsbury near I-290, Shrewsbury High School, and Lake Quinsigamond. Town Manager Kevin Mizikar announced the project to the public on Nov. 19 and said it would fall under Chapter 40B.
Unlike other recent 40B projects like Emerald Run and 409 South Street — in which the developers worked with the town in an effort to make the project mutually beneficial and “friendly” — Saxon Partners is looking to complete the project unilaterally, in other words, as an “unfriendly” 40B project.
Shrewsbury has not reached the 10% subsidized housing inventory (SHI) or “affordable unit” threshold to have “safe harbor” from such “unfriendly” projects. Currently, 6.17% of year-round Shrewsbury housing can be categorized as “affordable” using 2020 U.S. Census numbers. The town may be eligible for a two-year “safe harbor” period if the 196-unit project at 409 South Street is approved.
More on 40B Here: 40B Shrewsbury Explainer
The Select Board on Dec. 17 unanimously approved a comment letter outlining its concerns with the project at 104 Main St.
Among those concerns were how plans for the 40B project seem to include parcels of nearby town-owned land. The plans do not call for construction on those specific town-owned parcels, said Mizikar, but the development itself goes “right up” to them, potentially calling property setback limits into question.
The design of the project — one large building with an attached parking garage — may pose safety issues. First responders may not be able to adequately access the building, Mizikar said. In addition to environmental concerns, the town believes there are “conflicts” between the plans and the spirit of the 40B statute, which was designed to create affordable housing. Most of the units would be “large” and would not necessarily be affordable, the town argued.
“From the beginning, it feels like the spirit of cooperation is missing from this,” said Select Board member Beth Casavant. “I understand 40B, and I understand that if you’re not at the 10% affordable, your hands are tied. But the project is so out of alignment with so many aspects of our preferred development.”
MassHousing will evaluate the plan – and the town’s comment letter – prior to any potential local approval process.
“On and off over the last year or so, we’ve been telling the developer that this project can not work … due to most of the concerns we’re sharing here. They’ve never revised the plans or come back to the table with alternatives or solutions that takes these comments into account,” said Mizikar. “It’s been a frustrating process.”
