ITEM FILE PHOTO
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
NAHANT — A dozen town-owned homes that were built for World War II soldiers could be demolished to make way for single-family homes and a condominium complex.
If approved, the proposed Bass Point Overlay District on Castle Road, Goddard Drive and Trimountain Road would allow multi-family construction.
Nahant has owned the property at Castle and Gardner roads since the 1950s. Today, they are leased to tenants.
At a hearing Tuesday evening, residents asked questions and expressed concerns about the proposed development on Bass Point.
The Planning Board discussed an amendment to establish a new district that would allow for the redevelopment of the former military housing units.
“What does the timeline look like? As a tenant, I’m asking when I am moving,” said Lauren Barton, who rents one of the U.S. Coast Guard housing units.
The 12 existing homes date back to World War II when they were used to house soldiers who worked at a nearby bunker.
Town Administrator Jeff Chelgren said the parcels exist on one large lot.
A special Town Meeting will be held in September to ask residents to approve the change, which will allow eight single-family homes and a 20-unit condominium building to be built on the lot.
Chairman Richard Snyder said 25 percent of the units would be set aside for income-eligible families.
Attorney Mark Bobrowski, special town real estate counsel, said the 25 percent would translate to two single-family homes and four condos. The interior of the units would be modest, but the exterior would be the same as the market rate units.
“The key is to walk down the street and not be able to say that’s an affordable unit and that’s a market rate unit,” he said.
The project was approved by Town Meeting in 2005 and a developer was chosen, but the real estate market crashed and brought plans for the former military property to a halt. The Coast Guard Housing Committee developed a proposal last year, but only received one bid.
The purpose of establishing the district is to make the property more attractive to potential developers, Chelgren said.
Residents wanted to know if there would be any handicap accessible units, if it’s possible to use environmentally-friendly materials and if the single family units could be prevented from becoming condos.
Bobrowski said many of the details would be worked once a developer is chosen for the site.
Some residents opposed the idea of a multi-family building coming to Bass Point.
“The town could make money selling the individual houses,” said Elizabeth Kelley, a Bay View Avenue resident. “We don’t need this. This is just an overcrowding of Bass Point.”
Others argued that the project had already been vetted through several Coast Guard Housing Committee meetings.
Pan Manadee, a committee member, said the changes being discussed are intended to make the property more marketable so the town has more developers to choose from.
“This is not a blank slate,” Manadee said. “This has been voted on by Town Meeting and approved.”
Snyder said the board will meet again Aug. 17 to make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.