by Frank Schroth

At Thursday night’s meeting of the Planning Board, Chair Alex Whiteside provided a brief overview of the history of Carrick Realty’s attempts to develop the Hendries building, the current status, and next steps. He also gave his point of view on the matter.

Carrick Realty had applied for a special permit to develop a mixed use building consisting of commercial spaces on the first floor and condominiums above. This was enabled from a planned unit development that in turn came about from a study of the Central Ave / Eliot St area by the Urban Land Institute. According to Whiteside, they were “getting pretty close” with the special permit application but it was voted down due to a “number of outstanding issues,” including concerns on the bulk of the building, the height, and whether the ground floor should be considered a basement.

Whiteside continued saying that time went by, and last summer Senator Joyce convened a group to see if a deal could be put together. The concerns idenfied as issues were largely addressed by pushing the building back 10 feet from Central Avenue. Cheryl Tougias, a Milton architect, developed some concepts that incorporated the T station into a public space along with some other design elements and “it looked like we had a go,” said Whiteside. However, the Board of Selectmen could  not come to agreement on the sale of the town-owned portion of the building.

Carrick Realty pursued a 40B development, received a letter of eligibility, and is moving forward with it. Whiteside said it is “not a thing of beauty and would not contribute anything except congestion and some affordable housing.”

Joyce, concerned about the development in an area he had successfully helped to redevelop with state funds, again brought together a group consisting of Mr. Whiteside, Katie Conlon, Chair of the Selectmen, and Jerry Connelly, a principal of Carrick Realty.

Whiteside said that “they (Carrick) have a problem with the Planning Board dragging things out.” Whiteside distributed a new application and special permit to members of the board and proposed that they review it, schedule a hearing for September 4th with the public, and vote on the application and permit that night with the goal of submitting it for the meeting on Sept. 5th. The process would be fully complete by the 25th of September in advance of the end of the month. The end of month is a critical date, as there is a contract between the town and Carrick to have their respective portions of the building demolished and removed. With this done, the Planning Board can then “kick the can to the Board of Selectmen.”

Whiteside spoke in favor of granting the special permit and application saying that a mixed use development is “significantly better” than the proposed 40B apartment building. “This is so much better . . . better for the business district, the neighbors, the parking. . . all of it.” Whiteside acknowledged that they were under a “significant time constraint. . . if we are going to make this work you have to decide if you like what is proposed . . . [we will] ask the public what they think – if they don’t want it – that’s that.”

The Board of Selectmen are scheduled to take up the issue again at their meeting this coming Tuesday, August 19. Whiteside said a meeting with the neighbors would also be arranged. Bill Clark, Town Planner, will be reaching out to the Columbine-Cliffs and Milton Hill Neighborhood Associations as well as merchants and abutters. A date has not been set. It should be noted that Carrick Realty has not indicated they are inclined towards this or not . There is not yet a proposal and they are currently on the path of developing a 40B apartment building on the Hendries site at Central and Eliot.