LYNNFIELD — Grandview Estates developer Saeed Abu-Zahra, doing business as Spring-L Realty LLC, has informed town officials he will not seek voter approval at the May 16 Town Meeting for a zoning change on an 18-unit affordable housing project off Ramsdell Way.
The zoning petition, which appears as Article 16 on the Town Meeting warrant, would allow the property to be developed as elderly housing. The project calls for 16 units contained in eight townhouse-style buildings with two housing units and two-car garages for each unit.
“The design team met (Wednesday) and the conclusion was that we weren’t sufficiently prepared to present the rezoning at this Town Meeting,” said Tim Doyle, attorney for the developer. “We notified the town Thursday that we were no longer going to proceed as originally planned at this time. It’s still on the table and will likely come back another time.”
Doyle said the petition might possibly be submitted for the October Town Meeting.
Doyle appeared before the Select Board at its April 12 meeting to update members on the rezoning petition.
He said Grandview Estates obtained a comprehensive permit under Chapter 40B for the original project in 2010 requiring the developer to set aside a total of 10 units as affordable.
Roads B and C are nearing completion with 22 units finished and four more in process. Six of those are designated as affordable.
Road A originally called for 18 units with four units designated as affordable, according to Doyle.
“Right now the project is fiscally underwater,” Doyle said. “Rezoning will allow him to build 16 units, sell them at market rate, and hopefully recoup some of his costs and walk out with a profit.”
Doyle said a 40B project isn’t viable and that the developer has tried to sell the project three times.
“Each time the buyer walked away because he couldn’t get financing from lenders,” said Doyle.
Doyle referred to the rezoning request as “a path forward” for his client.
“I’ve spoken with the folks at Grandview Estates and have talked with some homeowners on Ramsdell Way… and the folks at Grandview support this.
“Even if we are successful and the property is rezoned as elderly (the property is currently zoned as single family with a 30,000-square-foot minimum lot size) we still have to get through the Zoning Board of Appeals and state to get out from under the comprehensive permit.”
During the meeting, Select Board members expressed concerns about the obstacles the developer will face in their efforts to rezone the property.
“Generally, I have no problem changing to elderly housing as we need that over-55 piece that we are lacking; there is still a demand for it,” said Select Board member Phil Crawford. “My bigger problem is the process this project has gone through, how it’s moving along. There have been several projects that were approved after this one that have been completed. I know you are going to run into a lot of hurdles and this (rezoning) is just one piece of it.”
Crawford said residents’ concerns “have been brought to us many times and we really want to make sure their piece gets done in a timely manner before (the developer) moves on to anything else.”
Board Chair Richard Dalton said he’s been involved with this project “back to my days on the Planning Board.
“I’ve been there and done this before,” he said. “I want to make sure that the parts that are still to be built are addressed. That’s more important than anything. We want to make sure we are protecting the neighborhood.”
Crawford said the developer’s decision to take the rezoning petition off the table at the May Town Meeting was prudent.
“To do this at this time was poor timing and I believe destined to fail, and that’s not what the developer wants,” he said. “In Lynnfield the 55-plus piece is important and this one actually has a chance of getting done in a timely manner if they have time to present to the state. The timing was poor and destined to fail, which is not what they wanted. Putting it off gives them the best way to attack it and be successful.”
