Developer is picked for units on former Nike missile site
Wayland officials have selected a developer to build 16 lower-cost condominiums at a former
The Board of Selectmen chose Oxbow Associates of Boston from seven applicants to design and build the units on the town-owned land. The three-person partnership, formed specifically to apply for this project, will begin working to secure state funding and to seek a comprehensive permit from the zoning board.
The town wants the project built on 2.75 acres on Oxbow Road under the state's Chapter 40B regulations, which allow developers to bypass local zoning when a community does not meet the state's affordable-housing targets. Only 3 percent of Wayland's housing stock is affordable; the state goal is 10 percent.
Town officials say $1.3 million is needed for construction. If state agencies grant the money, all 16 units will be designated as affordable, said former selectman Brian O'Herlihy.
The units would be sold for between $170,000 and $230,000 to people who qualify, with Wayland residents and town employees probably getting first preference.
If the state doesn't provide enough money, officials may consider selling a portion of the units at market rates to help fund the project, said O'Herlihy, a member of the town's Nike Site Reuse Advisory Committee.
Town Meeting in 2004 approved the purchase of 14 acres from the federal government.
The town paid $395,000 from its Community Preservation Fund for the land it will develop, and $1 for the remaining acreage, which will be set aside as open space. The town plans to build a handicapped-accessible trail around the property and to eventually build at least one playing field on the open space.
All the buildings have been demolished, but a fence still surrounds the property, which sits near the Lincoln line.
The town hopes to secure the former underground missile silos this week so the fence can be removed.
Some nearby property owners have opposed the proposal, saying it's too small a parcel to hold 16 units and raising concern about the look of the units.
Marisa Serafini, whose home abuts the open space on the site, said she's concerned that the condos are going to be "very bare bones," without garages or basements. She said she wants to make sure the units are of high quality and designed to fit into the neighborhood.
"I'm afraid they'll be stereotypical projects," Serafini said.
O'Herlihy said he thinks putting the project next to a large swath of green makes sense. "There's a huge amount of open space," he said. "It just feels right."
Oxbow Associates proposed building the units in three clusters. Each unit would have a private outdoor space.
Adding 16 units to its affordable-housing stock would help the town hold off so-called "unfriendly 40Bs," those that officials consider inappropriate for the town, for about a year, he said.
But the town would still be nowhere near the state's 10 percent requirement.
Still, committee members feel like it's an important project, and they want to encourage as many affordable units as they can. "The town has taken this on as a mission," O'Herlihy said.
He said he hopes the project will be completed by the end of 2008. But he said many hurdles still lie ahead.
Former selectmen chairman Michael Tichnor said the major obstacle would be to secure funding. "That's the big unknown," he said. "Once the funding is in place, everything will fall in very rapid order."
