by Frank Schroth

At their meeting on 5/31 the Board of Selectmen unanimously passed a motion in support of the new Milton Hill House proposal after receiving a presentation from Ned Corcoran. Mr. Corcoran is representing the Sullivan family who own and manage the Milton Hill house and have plans pending to build additional apartments targeted at seniors wishing to downsize and remain in Milton.

Mr. Corcoran largely reprised a presentation he recently gave to the Planning Board previously. He outlined the target demographic for the new apartments, a history of design revisions that project has undergone, and the current status of the proposal. The proposal consists of three buildings: a new 27 unit apartment building, renovation of the existing Henry House into 2 units, and a new Carriage House. The latter will serve as a visual buffer between the development and the homes on Morton .

Corcoran noted th he too lives in the neighborhood and was interested in a development that addressed neighbors concerns. Mr. Corcoran was joined by a member of the Sullivan family and Danny Garrity another member of the development team. They estimated they had met with various vested parties, neighbors et al, once for every apartment unit, between 25 – 30 meetings in all.

Corcoran also noted that they estimate the units will add ~$60,000 to tax income and that they seeking 9 variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals. That board is asking that the developers obtain acknowledgement from Planning Board that the plan is feasible. There is currently a hearing underway before the Planning Board regarding that. Per comments received to date Corcoran said that the developers are looking at options for addressing concerns regarding the back of the building that faces Eliot Street.

John Zychowicz, the co-chairman of the Milton Village/Central Avenue Revitalization Committee, spoke also. He reviewed recommendations the committee made regarding the plans. He mentioned the concern regarding the building design as it faces Eliot Street and read out other issues that had been identified in a letter to the Selectmen and Planning Board. You can find the full text of the letter and the Revitalization’s recommendations here.

>During Citizen’s Speak two residents rose to voice their concerns about the structural safety of the Hendries building at 131 Eliot Street. Peter Mullin, a Precinct 2 Town meeting Member, cited a letter by Malcolm Larson, former Milton Fire Chief, that was submitted to MyTownMatters. In his letter Mr. Larson said the Hendries building is in hazardous condition. He compared it to the Hood fire on Wharf Street and the Worcester fire that killed 6 firefighters. The Hendries building like those two buildings is a cold storage facility. Mr. Mullin also called out Larson’s statement that, “The interior is deteriorating to the point where the ceilings and walls are caving in and the floors and roof are sagging and unsafe to walk on. The roof leaks letting in more water than it keeps out causing continual structural deterioration, a mold paradise and a basement filled with over 4 feet of stagnant water.” (Please see editor’s note below re: Larson letter.)

Mr. Mullin also said the understood that two structural engineering reports were being developed, one by the town and one by the developer Steven Connelly. Mullin urged the board to get as much information as possible and that the public safety concerns were separate and distinct issue from that of the redevelopment and special permit request before the Planning Board. Mullin asked that the reports when complete be made public.

Chairman Hurley responded that everything Mullin stated was factually true. He said the board would confirm with town counsel before making public but that he did not see any problem with that. Member Denis Keohane, who is a developer, said he had a building collapse on him and understood the concerns.

Ellen DeNooyer, also a Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member, also voiced her concerns. She called for more information on the condition of the building such as egress lighting and hazardous materials (e.g. asbestos, lead paint). As part of the make safe effort she asked for a professional hazardous materials survey. She asked what next steps were and offered to assist in the effort.

The board will await the reports and make them public after consultation with town counsel.

(Editor’s note: Mr. Larson submitted his letter as a comment which can be found on this post. This post also contains a number of other comments on the Hendries site. To make it easier to find Mr. Larson’s letter, we have broken out Mr. Larson’s letter as a separate post which you can find here.)