Southborough Development Finally Gets OK
It took more than four years, but Robert Heavey finally has approval from officials in Southborough to construct a 16-unit affordable housing development.
Heavey, a Natick-based developer and owner of several campgrounds and self-storage businesses across the state, has wanted to build the project off of Oak Hill Road in Southborough for years. A slowdown in the economy, combined with what he calls some foot-dragging by local permitting officials, has delayed the project.
Last year, on the eve of a statewide ballot question that could have removed incentives for developers to construct low-priced housing options, Heavey thought the project was dead.
During the past six to eight months since that ballot initiative failed, Heavey has appealed a decision by the local zoning board of appeals to the state and board of selectmen. His efforts proved successful when the ZBA finally approved his development plans earlier this month, with some new conditions on the project.
"It's been a long, long process," Heavey said.
Try And Try Again
After receiving resistance from the local ZBA, Heavey took his debate to the state.
Under the state's Chapter 40B law, developers can appeal local planning decisions to the state if less than 10 percent of a community's housing stock qualifies as "affordable." Southborough is such a town.
Heavey appealed the local ZBA's decision and got positive feedback from the state, which he thinks helped urge town officials to resolve the situation. Heavey and ZBA members met with a mediator on several occasions to work out a compromise deal.
ZBA officials worried that the 2.5-acre site near Route 9 would not be large enough for the 16 townhouses Heavey wants to build. Last fall, ZBA officials asked him to reduce the project to 14 units, but Heavey said that would ruin the economics of the project.
Through mediation, ZBA officials agreed to allow Heavey to build the 16 units, with four of them labeled as affordable. Affordable units will be reserved for residents who earn below the median income for the area. Heavey said his original estimates - the townhomes selling for between $329,000 and the affordable homes for about $170,000 - are still on track. He would not discuss the overall budget of the project, however.
As a compromise on his part, Heavey agreed to some additional landscaping and other investments.
The ZBA is waiting for a few weeks to see if there are any appeals to its decision to allow the Heavey project to move forward. If there are no objections, Heavey said he would be allowed to begin construction within weeks.
Because the project has been delayed so much, Heavey said he's already taken on some other projects, specifically at one of his self-storage businesses in Grafton and some renovations of a campground he owns. Those projects are his top priorities now, so he doesn't plan to move forward with the Southborough development just yet.
Heavey said he is open to selling the now-permitted project.
His development represents just one of a handful of potential projects that could be constructed in Southborough soon.
Westborough-based builder Robert Moss filed plans with the town for two developments, including a large-scale, 140-unit affordable housing project.
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