Elm Place Project Gains ZBA Approval In Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The developers behind the long-debated Elm Place Chapter 40B affordable housing building in Swampscott said they are looking forward to beginning construction on the 114-unit complex early next year after the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the comprehensive permit with conditions Monday night.

"We thank the ZBA and its experts for endorsing our proposal to bring well-planned, much-needed, transit-oriented affordable housing to Swampscott," WinnCompanies Chief Executive Officer Gilbert Winn said in a statement to Patch Monday night. "Although navigating this process for more than 18 months has been difficult and costly, patience and perseverance ultimately resulted in a collaborative development strategy that has earned town support."

Winn said the company now looks forward to completing the financing by the end of 2022 and starting construction sometime in the first half of 2023.

The ZBA had signaled in a straw poll at its last public hearing that board members were leaning toward approving the project after WinnDevelopment made some additional changes to the size of the building — reducing it from 120 units to 114 to allow for a wider entrance to the Swampscott Rail Trail at the MBTA underpass — and parking.

Forty-two percent of the units will be rented at "affordable" market rates with all 114 units counting toward the town's inventory of affordable housing. At 3.7 percent prior to the project, the town is below the state's 10 percent threshold which allows for developers to avoid many local zoning regulations to achieve the "critical town need" of additional public housing.

ZBA members had indicated at different points of the public hearing process that they were frustrated with the limited scope where they could deny the application based on the state 40B zoning exemptions, but multiple members expressed appreciation that the developers did move on some issues that were important to the town and acknowledged that Winn had been successful in gaining peer review and public safety endorsements of the project's impact.

ZBA Chair Marc Kornitsky allowed in May that a "no" vote would likely lead to a state appeal for WinnDevelopment in which the town could potentially lose some of the concessions made.

"It is far from perfect — all 40Bs are far from perfect — but what we have is as good as the Board is going to do," Kornitsky said at the May 9 forum. "It's been a long, arduous process."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)