Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | August 21, 2017 | wbjournal.com BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Fighting a rising tide As housing demand rises for their community, Boxborough residents are fighting new developments, even though they have little choice in the matter B oxborough claims a peace and quiet few communities inside the I-495 belt can, with no large retail or indus- trial areas and not even a sin- gle traffic light in the center of town. Boxborough is along a stretch near Route 2, I-495, I-290 and the Massachusetts Turnpike making it com- mutable to Worcester, Fitchburg, Boston, Lowell or many of the technology clusters in the region, and has become a nat- ural next-step for develop- ment as surrounding areas lose large buildable sites. Despite that – or because of it – the community works strongly to keep its small- town character. No homes are allowed without a special per- mit in the town center, and homes must be built on lots of at least 1.5 acres. After two affordable housing devel- opments were loopholed into with little say-so from the residents and the town, Boxborough residents are fighting a proposed 100-unit senior housing development on a wooded 60-acre site off the main drag, Route 111, which likely will be loopholed like the others. "Basically everyone we've talked to said they can't believe this is happen- ing," said Heather Fleming, an organiz- er with the community group Boxborough Town Center. Housing demand The town of 5,000 has been under significant development pressure, Town Planner Adam Duchesneau said. Even if the new senior housing development isn't approved – which it likely will be – two other developments have increased the number of residential units in BoxBorough by 15 percent. The newest one completed, Paddock Estates, opened in July with amenities including a clubhouse, pool, basketball and bocce courts and a fire pit with 244 units in a cluster of large buildings, 61 of which are affordable housing. JPI, a Texas developer building Paddock Estates, was attracted to building in Boxborough because of a strong employer base along I-495, a high-ranking school district and numerous dining and retail options within a 10- to 20-minute drive, said Tom Moran, JPI development manager for the Northeast. "Most people who visit Boxborough will see how sce- nic and charming the town is would describe it as a place they'd love to live, but given the limited housing supply, it isn't not a reality for most," Moran said. "We felt we could offer a premier living experience at a price favorable to home ownership, which also coincides with the national shift to renting by choice." The other development, Boxborough Meadows, has 48 units just off Route 111 built starting in 2002 by developers James Fenton and Michael Jeanson. Another 20 units were built in another 40B project called Summerfields near the Acton line starting in 2004. Both projects circumvented local zoning because of the state's Chapter 40B regulation allowing developers to build more densely if units have afford- ability restrictions. Boxborough was subject to Chapter 40B because less than 10 percent of its housing stock was deemed affordable by the state. The heart of town After those projects went through, community opposition has organized against the Enclave at Boxborough senior housing development. The Boxborough Town Center resi- dent group set up red-and-white "Save Our Town Center" yard signs scattered along the town's main roads and has nearly 200 members on Facebook. "People have gotten their backs up because of how this is being done," Fleming said. Enclave would put 100 residents in 50 duplexes set back from Route 111. Only a clubhouse is visible by passers- by, but the project would include two other entrances meant for emergency access but open to public at all times. Residents along nearby Burroughs Road, a narrow and winding street south of Enclave, are worried about the traffic. Priest Lane, a short cul-de-sac to be extended to provide an entrance to Enclave, would lose its serenity to vehi- cles driving through. "From the start, it has been obvious that they are trying to force a square peg into a round hole," resident Robb Karess said of Enclave. "The scale and density of their proposed development is just inconsistent with the character of the surrounding neighborhoods." Bob Childs, who's lived off Burroughs Road for 45 years, said the acres of bucolic woods behind his house is home to varied wildlife. "It's literally in the heart of town," he said. "I was the lone voice in the woods for many, many months, and then peo- ple started recognizing and seeing what was happening. Now we have quite a following." Toll Brothers in Pennsylvania, the developer with a purchase-and-sale agreement to build Enclave, does not comment on proposed developments. Grandfathered in If the Enclave project were to be sub- mitted for permitting approval today, it wouldn't be, but because it was submit- ted five years ago, the town will have little say in the matter. Boxborough demand Boxborough is the only town in its area of the I-495 corridor whose single-family median home price has exceeded the level from prior to the Great Recession. Each price listed is as of July each year. The Boxborough Meadows 48-unit affordable housing development was the first to bypass town approval because of 40B regulation. Heather Fleming, organizer, Boxborough Town Center '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 15 '16 '17 Stow Boxborough Littleton Marlborough 700 0 600 500 400 300 100 200 Median home price (In thousands of dollars) $620,000

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