Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff / File
A pair of low-rise office buildings would be demolished for a new apartment complex across from Burlington’s 3rd Ave. development under a proposal by Nordblom Co.
The Burlington-based developer is pursuing the first project proposed in the MBTA Communities zone approved by voters last year.
But to make the project financially feasible, Burlington-based Nordblom Co. is seeking a zoning change allowing increased height and density.
The proposal would replace a pair of 1960s-era office buildings on Middlesex Turnpike opposite of Nordblom Co.’s 3rd Ave. development with a 57-unit apartment complex.
An attorney representing Nordblom Co. said the project would reactivate underutilized commercial property along Middlesex Turnpike, the town’s major business district. Adding housing stock would increase Burlington’s attractiveness to employers, said Robert Buckley of Riemer & Brunstein LLP.
“In the old days, people would knock on my door and say, `We have to have a Burlington address,” Buckley told select board members during a presentation Monday. “That does not occur anymore. People go where they can find housing for their employees, permit quickly and grow.”
The changes increase density from 20 to 60 units per acre in the MBTA Communities district. The building height would range from 44 to 58 feet, said Todd Fremont-Smith, senior vice president of development at Nordblom Co.
The increased density would enable the project to cover the cost of resident amenities and full-time management, Fremont-Smith said.
Developers estimate that the project would generate $365,000 in annual net new taxes. The proposed zoning amendment could be approved at a special town meeting in September.
Select Board members said they want more information on the project’s water demand, parking and traffic.
“There are going to be people in town who are just fundamentally against a higher density development anywhere in town. I understand that,” Select Board member Sarah Cawley said. “But there does seem to be a growing appetite in town that more housing is needed in general.”
Nordblom previously developed a pair of apartment complexes known as The Huntington and The Tremont in its 3rd Avenue mixed-use redevelopment at Northwest Park. A third apartment complex on Middlesex Turnpike was developed in a partnership with health club operator LifeTime Fitness, providing memberships to the adjacent health club.
Burlington officials sought to blunt the effects of the MBTA Communities law and its goal of encouraging multifamily housing production, primarily rezoning areas that already are developed with apartments, condominiums and a strip mall. The MBTA Communities zone totals 68 acres and 15 separate parcels: the 167-unit LifeTime Living apartments parcel, the Heritage at Stone Ridge apartments property, and the Huntington and Tremont complexes. The largest, at 39 acres, is occupied by condominiums on Dover and Georgia Drive, the Westgate apartments and the 420-unit Beacon Village apartment complex at 26 Beacon St.
The Nordblom proposal is part of an 8-acre district along Middlesex Turnpike that also includes a strip mall.
A separate planning study resulted in January’s approval of rezoning 117 acres along Burlington Mall Road and surrounding office parks to encourage mixed-use development.
