At least two development projects in Sunderland are expected to have shovels in the ground in 2019.
One is a 150-apartment complex off Amherst Road, while the other is a senior housing facility on 2.8 acres of town-owned land on North Main Street. They have gone under the microscope at the municipal level, but neither have gotten the green light yet.
The applicant for the senior housing project is Rural Development Inc., a subsidiary nonprofit of the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
The project has faced significant opposition from abutters, most notably Margaret Byrne, who has made appearances at several meetings of town Conservation Commission and of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Byrne, who works as a restoration biologist, is concerned about the impacts the project would have on wetlands and on her property.
“The runoff and snow melt, especially, would contain salts and other (contaminants) would be pushed to the edge of the property and be allowed to melt, and I’m afraid that salts and other contaminants are going to come in and affect the habitat of the bordering vegetative wetlands,” she said.
At a Conservation Commission public hearing on Dec. 18, Byrne said snow melt would be moved into a designated buffer zone, though Mark Darnold, a principal of The Berkshire Design Group, which was hired by RDI, said it will be placed outside the buffer zone. Byrne said it will nevertheless melt into the zone, but Darnold said that aspect is not unique to this project. Darnold, who also said 10 inches of snow equate to 1 inch of water, is the site designer for the proposed project.
Michael Ahearn, who said he has lived at 127 North Main St. for 40 years, stood up at the Dec. 18 Conservation Commission public hearing to say he is concerned about effects the project will have on groundwater.
“I love Sunderland,” he told The Recorder after he left the meeting, “and there’s going to be other places to build this project. It’s time that the town looked for alternate sites.”
Glen Ohlund, community developer at the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority, has said the plan is to rework the back half of the house at 120 North Main St. The extensions lack foundation, HVAC and other infrastructure.
The new building, to the back and left of the existing house, will contain 30 units — 27 of which will be one-bedroom, three of which will be two-bedroom.
Ohlund also said the 2½-story facility will span 30,000 square feet, with a footprint of 10,000 square feet.
The Sunderland Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Dec. 17 to approve a 12-month extension to the option to purchase agreement for the 120 North Main St. project.
The other major proposed project facing Sunderland, Sugarbush Meadows, a 150-apartment complex off Amherst Road, became one step away from becoming a reality after the ZBA voted on Dec. 12 that the designs were complete and voted to send them to the Sunderland building commissioner.
Michael Charles and Brian Cohan, the principals of Benchmark Development, said 25 percent of the apartments will be what the state considers affordable housing. This comes at a time when many housing officials note the relative lack of affordable housing around the county.
Charles and Cohan said they are in the process of purchasing the project from Bourey LLC, a deal that is imminent and contingent upon receiving all necessary permits. Charles said construction is expected to last 18 months, ending in August 2020. Charles and Cohan declined to disclose costs and investment.
The complex will include two building clusters — one that consists of two three-story residential buildings and a one-story, roughly 4,000-square-foot clubhouse, and one that consists of three of the three-story residential buildings.
Charles said each of the residential buildings will hold 30 apartments and the clubhouse will be a common space, with a fitness center. There will also be a parking lot that can accommodate about 200 vehicles.
Cohan said the complex will cover about 18 acres. He also said 25 percent of the 150 units will be designated as affordable housing, while the rest will be market rate for the general public.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.