Commercial use is part of the package
An 11-acre property on the corner of Old Mill and Ayer roads, now a pastoral scene of woodland, field, and brook, may become the site of an assisted-living facility, shops, and offices. At their regular meeting Monday, members of the Planning Board looked at conceptual plans for the development, which is across the street from an unrelated proposal for a residential-commercial project at the former home of Toreku Tractor. The assisted-living plan is drawn to the conventional zoning bylaw—mixed-use village development—not to the zoning allowed by the state’s affordable housing law, Chapter 40B. Since its unveiling in February, the assisted-living plan has changed to reduce the number of residential units from 92 to 61, double commercial space, add storage facilities, and change the septic system from groundwater discharge to a Title 5-compliant system.
Current plans show six buildings on the site: four residential, including attached storage facilities, and two for offices or retail. The 61 one-bedroom units are identical and measure about 500 square feet each. “We may consider varying some of the units,” said Edmond H. Plante, a Bolton developer who said he is acting as an advisor and friend to Robert Marhefka, the owner and developer under the auspices of his company, Pleasant Properties. The residential buildings would offer storage facilities built at basement level to accommodate residents’ storage needs after downsizing. Planner Kara Minar asked whether the storage units would be open to outside rental. “If we didn’t fill it, we would open it. It’s allowed by the zoning,” answered site engineer Bruce Ringwall of Goldsmith, Prest & Ringwall, an Ayer civil and structural engineering firm.
The 4,000-square-foot retail space would be integrated with the living facility and offer goods and services useful to assisted-living residents, according to Ringwall. The other commercial building, at 12,000 square feet, would host retail space, offices, or a mix of those uses. The site’s septic capacity rules out a restaurant, Ringwall said.
Affordable and Rental Units
Planner Barbara Brady asked whether the units would be for sale or rented. Brady suggested that the developer look at an assisted-living rental complex in Ayer, which is 25 percent affordable. Ringwall said they would explore the notion of affordable rentals or ownership units. Plante said he first wanted to know if the plan as presented had correctly interpreted Harvard’s mixed-use bylaw.
The 73,000-square-foot parking lot with 128 spaces provoked comment. “Parking dominates the view,” remarked planner Peter Brooks, who also asked how many employees might be parking at the facility. The developer, his advisor, and the site engineer had no answer for the question. “We may be overparked,” Plante said, and added that the number of spaces could probably be reduced. Minar was concerned that Ayer Road would be a sea of impervious surface, citing the expanse of pavement surrounding Fitchburg Savings Bank and Sorrento’s.
Planning Board Chairwoman Mary Essary told the developer that the board would examine the plan for compliance with the bylaw before the next hearing. She also commented on the several public water supply wells, which are all in the wetland buffer zone, noting that it would be a matter for the Conservation Commission. “Seeing wells so close to a wetland always makes my skin crawl,” she said.
After the hearing, Old Mill Road resident and abutter Paula Johnston said she attended the meeting on a fact-finding mission. Her main concern was traffic, which she believes is already heavy and will increase with this project and the 40B proposal for 32 housing units and commercial space at 262-264 Ayer Road.
