Peabody affordable housing developer pledges ongoing outreach

PEABODY — A developer of a controversial affordable housing project on the site of the former J.B. Thomas Hospital and Curahealth Boston North Shore on King Street has announced that 70 percent of the project’s affordable units will be reserved for Peabody residents.
HDG King LLC (HDG), the owner of 15 King Street, also pledged to continue reaching out to the community following the first public hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) last week.
The project, which is located in a neighborhood zoned for single- and two-family homes, calls for the construction of 133 units..
In April, the developer received 40B site approval for its plans to build King’s Residences, a 133-unit development (with one to three bedrooms) on the 3.2 acre site, with 34 units being designated as affordable. HDG next filed a 40B application, which will allow it to bypass local zoning and planning regulations provided a minimum of 20 percent of the proposed units is affordable. The reason the developer can use 40B is because Peabody does not meet the 10 percent threshold of affordable housing in the city.
Since HDG purchased the property in December 2017 any attempts to develop the site have been met with fierce opposition from area residents and city leaders, who cite a variety of concerns including increased traffic, inadequate parking and an unwelcome burden on the school system.
“This project doesn’t add anything but problems to the city,” Hochman said. “We wanted a project that doesn’t destroy the neighborhood and this one doesn’t add anything but problems.It’s already a congested neighborhood and with the Endicott 40B down the road, it’s going to be even worse.”
HDG attorney, Jason Panos of the Peabody-based law firm of The Panos Law Group, presented the developer’s proposal at the Oct. 5 hearing. In a statement released the next day, he said HDG wants “to make it very clear that a lot of thought has gone into this project, and we want to ensure residents that what we are offering is a quality project that will bring jobs, revenue and an affordable place to live all here in Peabody.”
Panos went on to state that most of the affordable units “will be available to teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and other front line workers along with folks who grew
The statement went on to say that the project will allow “Peabody to add units to its affordable housing stock. Peabody residents will have more opportunity to stay in Peabody, shop in Peabody and be active in the area.”
The ZBA continued the hearing to Nov. 9.
“We want to hear from residents and hear their questions and constructive comments at the next hearing so that we can create the best possible development,” said Panos, adding that residents are encouraged to email their questions to [email protected].
Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning Martin said she has reached out to ZBA members to share her concerns about the project and has confidence the board will make sure residents’ best interests are served.
“Although we have several 40B proposals in the works, given the experience and independence of our current ZBA members, I feel confident that this is the best place for these matters to be hashed out,” said Martin. “40B laws exist to provide much-needed affordable housing and are not to be abused by greedy developers to threaten neighborhoods.
“The ZBA is an autonomous nonpartisan board that has the authority to deny projects outright or put conditions and restrictions on them that will make them manageable should the board deem the proposal to be in everyone’s best interest. I’ve reached out to the ZBA members with my concerns and suggest to residents they do the same; they will be heard.”
To learn more about the project, go to  www.kingsresidencespeabody.com.