Proposed Swampscott Housing Development Hits Apparent Roadblock

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A proposed 160-unit Chapter 40B affordable housing complex on Foster Road that drew a negative response from the Swampscott Select Board and neighbors at last week's public meeting has hit an apparent roadblock in its state approval process.

Select Board member David Grishman told neighbors that he received word from the town that MassHousing told developers of the Atlantic Bay complex to redesign the concept because current plans will not receive the approval needed for funding and to bypass town zoning bylaws because it fulfills a "critical local need" of providing more affordable housing.

"This is a win for the town as this project as proposed was simply not viable," Grishman told Patch in an email Tuesday afternoon, "similar to multiple failures previously proposed to develop this site.

"It is my hope this will remain undeveloped open green space."

Patch reached out to the law firm representing the developer on Tuesday and did not immediately receive a response.

According to the proposal, the complex would take up about 4.5 of the remaining 19 acres of land not yet developed in the town. Select Board members and neighbors objected to the size of the project, the ability of nearby roads to handle construction and resident vehicles, and the amount of blasting that would be necessary to put a building of that size on the property between Foster Road and Archer Street.

What was repeatedly termed as a "preliminary" design included 96 one-bedroom apartments, 48 two-bedroom apartments and 16 three-bedroom apartments? Twenty-five percent of the units would qualify as affordable housing with all 160 units counting toward the town's subsidized housing inventory, which at 3.68 percent in Swampscott is below the state's 10 percent threshold to avoid the bylaws.

"Since I am a resident of the neighborhood, I met many neighbors during the site visit in December," Grishman said. "Many neighbors had reached out to me wanting to write letters, make phone calls, and send emails, and do whatever it takes to let MassHousing know their feelings on this project."

(More On Patch: Swampscott Select Board Slams Housing Project Proposal)

The Select Board concluded its meeting last week stating its collective intention to craft a letter opposing the project.

Grishman told neighbors via his Facebook page that the developer could submit a revised concept proposal and indicated the Select Board would continue to compile comments about the impact of a development on this site.

(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.)