Massive Housing Project On Board's Agenda In North Andover

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — East Mill Housing LLC’s proposed Zero Prescott Street development is back before the North Andover Zoning Board of Appeals this week as town officials continue reviewing the 296-unit housing project.

The continued public hearing is scheduled for Thursday night and will focus on several aspects of the proposal, according to the board’s agenda. Topics include parking, revised architectural plans, a draft waiver list from the applicant and draft conditions.

The agenda also calls for discussion about the “interaction of the Avalon agreement and the 0 Prescott review.”

The project would be built on part of the East Mill campus near Prescott Street and High Street. Plans submitted to the town call for 296 rental units in two residential buildings along with a multi-story parking garage.

In documents previously filed with the town, the developer said the proposal would replace an “underutilized parking garage” on about 6 acres of the historic Davis & Furber Machine Shop property.

The development is being reviewed under Massachusetts Chapter 40B, the state law designed to encourage affordable housing development.

Town boards have been discussing the proposal for months. Earlier plans presented to the Planning Board described two five-story residential buildings with a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.