Factory site proposed for housing
300-unit plan fits in to 'smart growth' goal
An old Melrose factory site would be transformed into a 300-unit apartment complex under a plan recently submitted by a developer.
The apartments proposed by Stone Place Limited Partnership would be on a 7.8-acre section of a 15.5-acre "smart growth district" Melrose established in April on former industrial land on Washington Street. The development would encompass two restored mill structures and four new buildings.
The project has received a warm embrace from city officials, who say it is in keeping with their goals of the smart growth initiative to bring new vitality to the area through historically sensitive development.
"It's the type of regentrification of an area of our community that . . . we are striving for," said Mayor Robert J. Dolan, expressing his full support. "It's a commitment to historic preservation, it's a smart growth concept - the idea of housing adjacent to commuter rail," referring to the nearby Oak Grove MBTA station.
He also called it "a responsible development that increases our tax base and at the same time adds value to the neighborhood."
City Planner Denise Gaffey said the project needs site plan approval from the Planning Board under the ordinance creating the smart growth district. It will also need a special permit from the board under a city ordinance requiring projects with five or more units to set aside affordable housing units equal to 10 percent of the market rate units. Twenty seven of the Stone Place units would be affordable.
The site has some commercial users, who would need to relocate if the project goes forward.
Stone Place Limited Partnership, whose managing partner is Mercer Properties, of Brookline, has an agreement to purchase the site from Tasco Realty, according to Tani Halperin, owner of Mercer.
"I really enjoy working on mill buildings," said Halperin, whose company converted a former biscuit factory in Worcester into 43 housing units. Referring to the Melrose property, he said, "I just needed to drive by that place once in order to fall in love with it. The buildings are so beautiful."
According to Robert Bell, attorney for Stone Place and a Melrose resident, the Converse family built a Boston Rubber Shoe factory on the site about 1890.
In the 1940s, the complex was sold to a division of Firestone, which manufactured latex at the site. In the early 1970s it was acquired by Tasco Realty, two of whose partners own a business that makes packaging and thermal paper products for the food industry.
"It's just perfect for adaptive reuse, given the location," Bell said, noting that building housing near a transportation hub is a key tenet of "smart growth." The proximity of the Oak Grove station, as well as the Middlesex Fells Reservation and Pine Banks Park makes it "a great place to live," he said.
He noted that nearby Oak Grove Village, the 550-unit apartment complex built by Pembroke Real Estate on the Melrose-Malden line, has been successful in attracting tenants.
Under the Stone Place plan, 143 apartments would be in the two renovated mill buildings, one of which the city's zoning ordinance identifies as a landmark that must be preserved in any redevelopment.
The other 157 apartments would be in four new buildings. Three of those would be to the rear of the site along commuter rail tracks.
The fourth would be built on Pleasant Street in front of a National Grid substation.
Management offices and a clubhouse would be housed on the first floor, and apartments above.
An approximately century-old eight-story smokestack would also be preserved, serving as "the centerpiece of a new resident landscaped garden area," the plan said.
Parking would be provided through 321 surface spaces and 104 spaces in garages under three of the buildings. Several structures would be razed, including a storage rental building.
"The city is pleased with this," Gaffey said. "We spent a lot of time and effort into rezoning the land there in order to encourage redevelopment. We are excited about the possibility of restoring those mill buildings."
While not a zoning requirement, she said the city would favor a commercial component to the development.
Halperin said that he is a residential developer and his plan for the site is strictly housing.
He noted that other parts of the district are more suitable for commercial use, such as the Marty's Furniture building that fronts on Washington Street.
Halperin praised the city for its adoption of smart growth zoning, saying his project could not have gone forward without it.
"They did a remarkable job," said Halperin. "All the neighbors' concerns were addressed. . . . I was really impressed."
John Laidler can be reached at laidler@globe.com 