Ashland Project Hits A Snag
PHOTO/EILEEN KENNEDY
One of the completed residential units at the Villages of the Americas development in Ashland.
Fafard Real Estate and Development Corp. of Milford must go ahead with the commercial portion of its mixed-use development, the Villages of the Americas in Ashland, or bring a halt to new condo construction thanks to voters at a recent town meeting.
When initially proposed, the $17 million project was to include 328 condominiums as well as almost 42,000 square feet of commercial space, with up to 200 additional condos above the street-level retail.
Fafard received approval for the project back in 2002. The permitting required the construction of the commercial space once it built 164, or half of the proposed condos. The condos sell for between $329,000 and $400,000. Most units are two bedrooms with 2.5 baths.
The People Speak
The declining housing market and economy led the developer to seek approval to put off the commercial portion once it completed the first half of the residential development. However, voters at a May 6 town meeting denied Fafard's proposal to change plans.
Although the company had the approval of the board of selectmen and the planning board to cut the commercial space, the proposal had to go before town meeting voters because it would have meant rezoning the area to be only residential. The vote was 235 against the change and 48 in favor of it. Unless Fafard appeals the decision, it must move forward with the commercial development in order to build anymore residential units.
The resistance came in part from people like Josh Fialky, a condo owner and trustee on the development's condo board.
"When I bought here almost four years ago, and when this idea was sold to the town, it was to be a community with cafes and family-friendly pedestrian destinations that you could walk to and enjoy as part of this development," Fialky, who is already living at the Villages of the Americas, said.
Fafard did not return several calls for comment.
The company has been building in the area for more than 30 years, with numerous commercial and housing developments in Ashland, as well as other communities like Milford, according to Ashland Town Planner Stephen Kerlin.
On Thursday, a planning board hearing is scheduled on Fafard's amended commercial plan, which now shows three long, thin buildings for the commercial space. The original plan was for a horseshoe-shaped building and two rectangular buildings, according to the town.
Fafard can also finish up the last condominium building it started, then leave the project the way it is, Kerlin said.
But residents of the development want more.
"This (the original plan) is what we're owed. It's what we bought into and it's what the town bought into it," Fialky said. "That's why the town meeting vote was such a victory. It shows that as a town, we can't be bought."
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments