Nahant approves Coast Guard housing project

NAHANT-The town has approved the development agreement for the former Coast guard Housing project.Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said the Selectmen have approved the agreement between the town and Bass Point Residences LLC, which is developing the parcelCullinan said the corporation was formed solely for this project but Phillip Singleton and Jeffrey Gouchberg, who are the principals in the corporation, have extensive experience in development.When complete, the property will house eight single family homes in the vicinity of Castle and Gardner roads and 20 multi-family homes in the Goddard Drive area, 25 percent of which will be affordable units. Cullinan said he is meeting with the state Department of Housing Development this week to begin the local initiative petition process under Chap. 40B, which governs affordable housing.?The development agreement starts the process,” Cullinan said. “The developers are anxious to get the project underway and they expect to start pre-marketing units in January.”Bill Lufter of Charing Cross Reality Trust in Salem, which is a subsidiary of Bass Point residences LLC, said the company is excited to do business in Nahant.?There is a real pent up demand for condos and single family homes in Nahant,” he said. “We’re honored to be working in Nahant and honored to be chosen for this project.”Lufter said given the scope of the project and the rigors of the permitting process he doesn’t expect the actual construction phase of the project to get underway until the end of 2009.?It also depends on pre-selling some units,” he said. “The first units will be online six to nine months after we’re in the ground.”Lufter said he has received a lot of positive feedback from residents regarding the development and the company would probably do some marketing out of one of the homes on the site after the first of the year.The 3.5-acre parcel was sold back to the town by the federal government in January 2005 for $2 million. Cullinan said the sale of the property allows the town to pay off the debt it incurred when it bought the parcel from the U.S. Government.?It will pay off what we owe and then some,” he said. “And when the project is complete we expect it to generate $160,000 a year in property taxes.”