On Wednesday, March 28, town meetings in Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley will be convening at the same time to vote on changes to the Devens Reuse Plan, zoning bylaws, and zoning map that would allow the Boston-based company Trinity Financial to redevelop the former military housing at Vicksburg Square into affordable rental apartments. Trinity has the backing of MassDevelopment, the quasi-state agency that manages the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone.
By law, major changes to the reuse plan and zoning require approval by all three town meetings.
The meeting in Harvard will be at 7 p.m. in the Cronin Auditorium at the Bromfield School. Babysitting will be available.
The proposal
Trinity plans to turn the four Vicksburg Square buildings into 246 rental apartments, 80 percent of which would be income-restricted affordable housing, with preferences for seniors and military veterans. A fifth building, a former theater, would be made into the new location of the Fort Devens Museum.
The following links provide more information on Trinity’s proposal and other factors for voters to consider:
- A FAQ (frequently asked questions) prepared by Trinity Financial.
- Parts I and II of an interview with Trinity Financial president Jim Keefe by the Harvard Press.
- A report on the proposal prepared by Harvard’s Devens Economic Analysis Team.
- Coverage by the Harvard Press of public hearings in Harvard, Devens, and Harvard again. Plus a meeting in Devens with MassDevelopment CEO Marty Jones.
- A Harvard Press article on a discussion of the issue, including a report on projected school enrollment, by the Harvard School Committee.
- The superintendent’s projected enrollment report.
- A statement from the Harvard School Committee intended to “help Harvard residents in their consideration.”
Pro and con opinions
A number of local and state officials have weighed in on the proposal.
- As reported in the Press, the Harvard Board of Selectmen voted, 3 to 1, against it. The one selectman who voted in favor of endorsing the project, Peter Warren, wrote a Viewpoint column for the Press explaining his position. Selectman Tim Clark wrote a letter to the editor explaining his.
- The Shirley Board of Selectmen unanimously endorsed the article. Ayer’s voted 3-2 in favor of it.
- Also as reported in the Press, Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray visited Vicksburg Square last week and endorsed the proposal on behalf of Governor Deval Patrick’s administration.
- State Senator Jamie Eldridge has also endorsed Trinity’s plan. He wrote a Viewpoint column in the Harvard Press.
- Harvard’s veterans’ services agent, Dennis Lyddy, wrote a letter to the editor Friday endorsing a vote in favor of the proposal.
- In a letter signed by union president Steven A. Tolman, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO encouraged its members to vote yes on Vicksburg Square.
There have been several opinion pieces in the Harvard Press in recent weeks for and against the Vicksburg Square Proposal:
- Former Selectman Bill Ashe wrote a Viewpoint column against it.
- Devens resident and Devens Committee chair Phillip Crosby wrote a Consider This column in favor of it.
- Former School Committee member Virginia Justicz wrote a Consider This column criticizing the school superintendent’s enrollment projections.
- Rick Bernklow, a member of the Devens Citizens Advisory Committee, wrote a Consider This column in November that called into question the analysis of Harvard’s Devens Economic Advisory Team.
- The Press has also run several letters to the editor on the issue, including ones by Nancy Reifenstein, Ken Ashe, Stu Sklar, Frank Maxant, James Gellar, and Bob Eisengrein.
- The Harvard Press has not endorsed a yes or no vote on the issue. The Press did run an editorial encouraging Harvard voters to frame their votes in the context of the long-term disposition of Devens.
