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This parcel at the corner of Washington and Swanton Street could get a makeover if the Melanson Development Group's proposal receives the support of the Select Board and Town Meeting approval.

This parcel at the corner of Washington and Swanton Street could get a makeover if the Melanson Development Group's proposal receives the support of the Select Board and Town Meeting approval.

WINCHESTER - The Woburn-based Melanson Development Group at 607 Main St., headed up by contractor Bryan Melanson, development consultant Toni Coyne Hall, architect Lawrence Reeves, and attorney Mark Vaughan, of Burlington, came before the Select Board last night to discuss plans for a potential “friendly 40B” at the Washington/Swanton Street parcel.

As the only developers to respond to the town’s RFP, Melanson and his team must impress the board enough for them to take his plan to Town Meeting this November. As of now, the proposal shows a three-story building with 60 total units, 16 of which will be affordable for those making both 60 and 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). This means all the units will count toward the town’s Subsidized Housing Index.

“We want something the town and us can be proud of,” Melanson noted at the outset.

According to development consultant Coyne Hall, the group is targeting three types: market rate, those making 60 percent AMI and those making 80 percent AMI. The plan shows a one-bedroom unit for those making 60 percent, nine one-bedroom units for those making 80 percent and 28 one-bedroom units at market rate; one two-bedroom unit for those making 60 percent, three two-bedroom units for those making 80 percent and 12 two-bedroom units at market rate; and no three-bedroom units for those making 60 percent, two three-bedroom units for those making 80 percent and four three-bedroom units at market rate.

The site also offers a 6,000 square foot commercial space, though while the Melanson Group admitted they didn’t have a specific tenant in mind were open to dialogue. Vaughan suggested a small cafe, market or convenience store.

When asked about the possibility of no one buying the commercial space, Melanson showed no reservations, calling it a great location for retail. (The area used to house small businesses before they were all bought out by CVS.)

With that commercial space, Vaughan also noted the possibility of 125 total parking spaces with 90 (or 1.5 per unit) dedicated residential.

As for design, architect Lawrence Reeves said it would relate to multiple elements in the neighborhood and respect the elevation. The commercial space would be located on the right of the property on Washington Street. The development would include a small pocket park/sitting area. It also includes a “true front yard” and connection to the bike lane on Washington Street.

The proposal shows a main entrance on Swanton Street for four of the units and a grade drop of nine feet from the sidewalk to the main floor. He said the storefront on Washington Street would be down to grade.

On the second floor, Reeves noted a landscaped courtyard measuring 7,500 square feet. He also said all the units would have good outdoor space. Reeves did mention some possible flexibility in this area, however.

On the third floor, the architect said he scaled back the facade.

As for the outside, he said it would be a brick-based building with the possible use of party plank for the second floor. The roof could be composite, but he acknowledged flexibility exists for perhaps using shingles instead (or in addition to).

On the financial side, Melanson will offer the town $4,050,000 or slightly less than what the town paid to acquire the property through eminent domain. He expects to pay $22M in construction costs and another $4.3M in soft costs. Add in some reserves and a developer fee and the total comes to $33,9M. Of that, $8.4M comes from equity, $22.7M comes from permanent debt and $2.75M comes from a deferred developer fee.

When asked by Select Board member Michael Bettencourt why Melanson waived the affordable housing tax credit, Coyne Hall said it would extend the timeline. Vaughan showed a schedule where occupancy occurs by 2025 (this would depend on the town moving quickly on certain aspects).

Overall, the group calls this project a “friendly 40B” as the parcel is zoned GBD-1 (General Business District) and not residential (meaning the developers need to use the 40B process because they’re not asking the town to change the zoning). Vaughan said the project didn’t expect to need any dimensional or height waivers.

The Burlington attorney said this team had extensive experience with these types of projects (40B and subsidizes housing inventory) in these types of communities.

After hearing the proposal, it now falls on the Select Board whether they want to take it to Town Meeting for approval. Obviously, it could be a hard sell given that Melanson offered less than what the town paid to acquire the property. However, with no other proposals, the other option involves sitting on the property for an even longer period of time.

This parcel of land remains vacant after a plan by CVS fell through when neighbors fought it in court and won. Since then, others purchased the property but could do nothing with it (or chose to do nothing with it). Therefore, the town, with the approval of Town Meeting, took the property to convert it into affordable housing.

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