Nahant condo projects put on hold; economy to blame

NAHANT – The economic climate is making it difficult for builders to obtain financing for condominium projects, so plans for condominiums on the site of the former Coast Guard Housing are on the back burner.Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said principals at Bass Point Residences LLC have been working with him to change the timelime for development of the 3.5 acre site.”The first phase of the project was going to be building the condominiums,” he said. “But I’m working with the developers now because they want to build the single family homes first.”The town approved the development agreement for the former Coast Guard Housing project last year.Cullinan said the Selectmen have approved the agreement between the town and Bass Point Residences LLC, which is developing the parcel.Cullinan 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 the only thing that has changed is the timing of the project. The single family homes would be built before the condominium development.”Everything is in accordance with what was approved by Town Meeting,” he said. “The design guidelines, number of units and other specifics will remain the same.”Charing Cross Reality Trust in Salem, which is a subsidiary of Bass Point residences LLC, is developing the site.In earlier interviews, partner Bill 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.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.”