Developer Envisions Housing On Tewksbury VFW Site

TEWKSBURY, MA -- A developer is looking to purchase and redevelop the VFW at 87 Vernon Street in Tewksbury into an eight-unit subdivision. Vinnie Casazza of the Wakefield development company Apex Investments LLC and his attorney, David Plunkett, met with the planning board last month to discuss the possibility, which Casazza says would reduce traffic and eliminate conflicts between the commercial use of the VFW and the mostly residential use of the surrounding neighborhood. Casazza added that the VFW is currently looking for a smaller facility.

Some neighbors who live close to the property received letters notifying them of a community meeting about the project on Thursday. But Facebook posts on closed Tewksbury discussion groups suggest there could be community resistance to the project in Tewksbury, where residents often raise concerns about the rapid growth in the number of condominium units being built in town.c

Casazza said he expects each of the eight units to be two stories tall. He noted that all but one of the lots in his proposed subdivision are bigger, on average, than other residential lots in the neighborhood.

Any change would require planning board approval and the Jan. 22 meeting was aimed at getting a feel on whether or not the board would support the proposal. According to minutes of the meeting, planning board member Jeremiah Delaney and Chairman Robert Fowler signaled that they were supportive of the preliminary description of the project.

Correction: This article was updated on February 9 to remove inaccurate information that had been provided to Patch about the specific changes that would need to be made under the town's zoning laws. Patch regrets the error.

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Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).