LAKEVILLE, MA - The town might have to take a second look at the over-55 restriction on the residential part of the Lakeville Hospital development site because it might be too restrictive. At a selectmen's meeting earlier this month with Sherry Clancy, project manager of the planned development at the former hospital site, the board emphasized that the need for the age restriction might have to be addressed at a special Town Meeting in the fall.
"The 55-and-over developments are being saturated," Selectman Nancy Yeatts said. "We have to do something else." Chairman Charles E. Evirs Jr. agreed. "When the bylaw was put together, there were no upscale areas or types of homes for people 55 and over and everyone said, what a great idea," he said. "In the interim, over-55 housing seems to have been accommodated and the need isn't there like before. We're looking at a special Town Meeting in the fall, and it would take a special Town Meeting vote to change the overlay and over-55 restriction on the project."
The 72-acre property is residential behind the commercial portion, which extends 600 feet back from Route 105. The original plan was to have a Target department store, a Super Stop and Shop and a Chili's restaurant in the front of the property and a mixed-use development zone for the rest of the area. Multifamily units were allowed if it was over-55.
"It is widely known that Target had second thoughts about coming to Lakeville and other places in Massachusetts due to a downturn in its business and an increase in construction costs here," said Ms. Clancy, a vice president at National Development Corp., which owns the property. "Stop and Shop is still interested in coming here, but we have some big site costs and demolition costs." Those costs include the expense to take down the hospital buildings and clean up a landfill that the state left when it abandoned the site.
A recent Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion grant for $375,000 was given to Lakeville to improve the water district at the site. A meeting with Middleboro selectmen is in the works as the town tries to bring improved water and sewer services and fire suppression water to the area, which will enhance the project's viability.
In the meantime, Ms. Clancy and National Development will begin the process of getting a site plan approved for the location through the Lakeville Planning Board. If the town chooses to change the overlay zoning, it will not affect the site plan. "If we build a project and the buildings are going to be placed in a certain way on the property, we wouldn't build a different configuration simply because the people living there are of a certain age," Ms. Clancy reported this week.
"We will do the proper grading, parking, sidewalks and everything else in conformance with the rules and regulations of the Planning Board." The state has approved up to 100 units of housing on the site that fronts on Route 79. "Lakeville is saturated with over-55 housing and that's the problem with the residential development," Ms. Clancy said.
"We may need to potentially look at other options. We can create a project by design that will appeal to young professionals who can't afford a conventional single-family home, but may be able to afford a side-by-side. "I have a vastly greater chance of success without the age restriction."
Source: SouthCoastToday.com