On Thursday, the town got notification from MassHousing regarding the Merry Village proposal for 24 age-restricted (55+) townhouse condominium units located on over four acres of vacant land on Lincoln Street.

A new 40B project may bring more affordable, senior housing in Duxbury.

On Thursday, the town got notification from MassHousing regarding the Merry Village proposal for 24 age-restricted (55+) townhouse condominium units located on over four acres of vacant land on Lincoln Street.   The land was formerly used as a gravel pit during the construction of Route 3 during the 1960s.

The proposal was filed under the state’s 40B “anti-snob” zoning act, which allows developers to bypass most town zoning regulations.

According to paperwork submitted to MassHousing by the developer, Chaves and Cincotta of Bridgewater, six of the units are earmarked as “affordable” and are projected to sell for $170,000 each.  The other 18 units are projected to sell at $359,000 each.  All 24 of the units are 1,603-square feet and contain two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.

Chaves and Cincotta signed a purchase and sale agreement with local cranberry farmer Stan Merry for 4.38 acres of land in June of last year for the project.

This is a significant reduction from the initial 40-unit complex that spanned over seven acres of land and was  discussed last January.  The “friendly” 40B proposal was never formally submitted to MassHousing, but sought to first swap two affordable units in exchange for four parcels of town-owned land.

An agreement between the applicant and the town seemed to be in place, but at last March’s Annual Town Meeting, voters turned down an article to give selectmen the

authority to negotiate this exchange.

Paul Cincotta of Chaves and Cincotta said that while the first version of Merry Village had support from town officials, but was defeated by voters, he is unsure what to expect with the official application of the project to the town.

“I don’t know what’s in store, but I’m optimistic,” said Cincotta.  “That’s based on the viability of the project and the design, which I feel the town will be pleased with.  We are working on a couple of issues regarding traffic and site distance, but I don’t feel these issues are insurmountable.”

Chaves and Cincotta are currently involved in two 40B projects in the towns of Berkley and Bridgewater.  Cincotta said in both these towns, the relationship has been good with land boards reviewing the plans.

As for why Merry Village is a good fit for Duxbury, Cincotta said that the main reason is the need for affordable housing for adults over age 55.

“Not only in Duxbury, but all over Southeastern Massachusetts, there is a need for this type of housing,” he said.  “These adults want to get into something more affordable with a little less maintenance.  We want to [provide] this as an upscale project and 40B appealed to us because of the density that we can get.”

In August, consultant Warren Lane of Land Use Associates in Plymouth submitted a Project Eligibility Application to MassHousing for the new, 24-unit proposal.   On December 31, the project got site approval by MassHousing and notice was sent to Duxbury officials last week.

In his letter to MassHousing Development Officer Richard Herlihy, Lane indicated that the applicant had “extensive meetings and conversations” with town officials over the previous 18 months and discussed the vote at annual town meeting.

“Since [the vote] we have had further conversations with Town officials, who have encouraged us to proceed,” Lane wrote.  “It will be a stand-alone development, although we certainly would not preclude Town involvement if a way to do that became clear.”

On Monday, Merry said he is hopeful that the town approves the proposal to increase its affordable housing.

“I don’t see how there could be any objection,” he said.  “I hope this helps the town with affordable housing.  We are only at three percent and as I understand it, the state wants everyone at 10 percent.”

Merry also did not exclude the future involvement of the town in the project.

“It may be that the town wants to add something to [the proposal] ñit’s too early to tell but we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Town Manager Rocco Longo said as of Monday, he only knew the number of units and acres for the project as well as the fact that it was eligible for financing.  He added that since this was a new application and a new process for the applicant, he had no idea if the town had plans to participate further.

“I’m not aware of any plans as of yet,” he said.  “Maybe [the applicant] feels that if they can do this piece [more will follow], but I don’t know yet.”

Ellen Callander, administrative assistant for the Zoning Board of Appeals, said she does not expect the application from MassHousing to arrive in town for another six to eight weeks.  It will then go before the town’s land boards at public hearings for ruling on permits.