Marblehead board meeting with Y developer delayed

MARBLEHEAD – Hampered by unforeseen circumstances – a key project consultant has been deployed for military duty – developer Heidi Wattendorf will have to wait another two weeks for final approval of her downtown YMCA project, the town?s first Smart Growth development.?The only issue left is the back of the building,” Town Planner Becky Curran said Wednesday. “We want the back of the building to look more like the other three sides.”The board is scheduled to meet with the developer again Feb. 1.Board members raised aesthetic questions about the design for the School Street side in December, which they said is less decorative than the other three.As a result of the consultant?s military activation, revised plans for the 17-condominium residential project weren?t delivered to Planning Board members until 2 p.m. Tuesday, hours before the board meeting with the developers.Once Attorney Paul Lynch completed his updated presentation, which includes a commercial space on the first floor, three affordable units and indoor parking, Planning Board Chairman Philip Helmes assured Lynch that the board was looking for ways the project could “hit the guidelines.”?We?re not trying to add another $1 million to the cost of the building,” he said.The first-floor commercial use has not been specified. Curran said the space will be a store-front area on the Pleasant Street side, the front of the building.