by Frank Schroth

The Milton Mews 276 unit apartment complex, a proposed 40B development on Brush Hill Road, moved forward this past week. Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (Mass Housing) states in a letter to the Robert Hewitt, a managing partner at the developerMill Creek, that “the proposed Project appears generally eligible under the requirements of the housing subsidy program, subject to final approval under 760 CMR 56.04(7)( ‘Final Approval’).” It confirms eligibility with regard to:

• the site is appropriate for residential development
• the conceptual design is appropriate for the site
• the project is financially feasible within the housing market in which it is situated
• the project is financially feasible and consistent with the Guidelines for cost examination and limitations on profits and distributions on the basis of estimated development costs
• that the Applicant would be eligible to apply as a Limited Dividend Organization in connection with an application for financing under the Program, and meets the general eligibility standards of the Program
• the Applicant controls the site

It also notes:

With respect to finding (c), above, MassHousing specifically notes that the Project (i) has been designed to mitigate the impacts of the massing, height and density of the proposed development by utilizing the natural topography of the Site, resulting in a development proposal that transitions well from the Site to the surrounding neighborhood and (ii) is similar in mass and scale to Fuller Village, a 319-unit, multi-family development located immediately across Brush Hill Road from the proposed development.

Fuller Village is among a number of organizations that opposed the development. Chief among their concerns are traffic and environmental impacts. Friends of the Blue Hills and NepRWA also opposed it. Both the Milton and Canton Boards of Selectmen sent letters outlining concerns. These were all referenced in the letter from Mass Housing, which can be found here.

Mill Creek has two years in which to file a comprehensive permit with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). Based on the letter, it appears MassHousing is placing the call on environmental and traffic impacts on the ZBA.

The letter notes in its recommendations that:

Based on MassHousing’s site and design review, and in light of the feedback received from the communities, the following issues should be addressed in your application to the Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) for a comprehensive permit and fully explored in the public hearing process prior to submission of your application for Final Approval

These include but are not limited to:

• resolution of all environmental conditions per laws, regulations and standards applicable to existing conditions and to the proposed use,
• Plans for the Project must comply with all conditions contained in any Order of Conditions by the Conservation Commission or the Department of Environmental Protection in connection with the Project.
• The traffic study or other professional peer review process should address proposed onsite circulation and parking to ensure compliance with public safety standards and good design practice relative to drive-aisle widths, turning radii and sight distances along the site drive and the parking areas through which it passes.

Mill Creek has hit something of a vein of real estate development opportunities along the Rt 128 beltway. They completed and opened a project in Concord (see related coverage here). A project in Needham has encountered some resistance (see related coverage here.) They like the Mews name: one is dubbed Concord Mews, the other Greendale Mews.

Mill Creek is an offshoot of real estate developer Trammel Crow, a Fortune 500 company.