LYNNFIELD — Construction of a Moulton Drive apartment building started last week.
After months of negotiations with the town and neighbors and litigation in Massachusetts Land Court, local developers Matt and David Palumbo started construction of a 23-unit, two-story apartment building at 160 Moulton Drive, the site of the former Chinese and Polynesian restaurant Bali Hai. Matt Palumbo said that the project will take 16 to 18 months to complete.
The Bali Hai restaurant closed its doors to the public on New Year’s Eve in 2018. The 1.4-acre property was sold to the Palumbo brothers on Dec. 31, 2018 for $600,000.
The Palumbos initially presented a proposal for a three-story apartment building of 32 one- and two-bedroom units that would rent for $2,200-$3,300. After neighbors voiced their opposition, and the Planning Board rejected the proposal, the project was scaled back to two stories with 23 units.
After two public hearings, the Zoning Board of Appeals rejected the updated proposal. The Palumbo brothers filed an appeal in Land Court, simultaneously considering building a restaurant at the Moulton Drive site instead. Both neighbors and Lynnfield Select Board were in favor of a restaurant instead of an apartment building.
However, in December 2020, the Land Court ruled that the ZBA decision to deny a special permit was improper, because there was not enough evidence to support the town’s claim of possible detrimental consequences to the community. The town then decided not to appeal this decision.
In January 2021, neighbors, who opposed construction of an apartment building and were upset with the town’s decision to not fight developers in court, launched a “Stop the Bali Hai Project” group on Facebook. Together they hired a lawyer, an arborist, and a drainage specialist to get their independent opinions, said Emmanuel Paul, a resident of Oak Street.
Since the town missed the deadline for filing an appeal in Land Court, the neighbors decided to negotiate with the developers and advocate for their needs. They were able to agree on a fence and greenery along Oak Street to make the apartment building less visible from their houses. They were also able to convince the Palumbos to relocate a permanent dumpster to the other side of the property.
“The town let everyone down,” said Paul. “At least, we could make it nice and hold them accountable.”
At the same time, Paul said, the construction was causing his whole house to shake.
“I am worried about the glass in the shower,” he said.
The Palumbo brothers also promised to create extra parking for the Newhall Park Little League park.
Director of Public Works John Tomasz said that he didn’t expect the construction to cause any problems with traffic or parking near the park.
“For our (elementary) school projects, I don’t think we had more than 10 contractors and personnel there, so I can’t imagine it will be worse at the Bali Hai site,” he said.
“Contractors might park near the baseball field during the day, but it shouldn’t negatively affect the neighborhood,” he said, adding that the DPW’s concern with stormwater runoff “was adequately addressed.”
