The Devens Enterprise Commission has approved construction of six modular duplexes at Adams Circle in Devens, the first new housing at the former Army base in three years and the first to be approved since the Legislature eliminated the area’s 282-unit housing cap in 2024.
The project was approved by the commission Oct. 9, following a public hearing Sept. 30, and will add 12 units of residential housing to a 2.1-acre parcel at 100 Adams Circle owned by MassDevelopment, the state’s finance agency and land bank. The parcel will be subdivided into six lots to accommodate the six planned duplexes. The developer is Reframe Systems of Andover.
Unlike a traditional duplex, each Reframe duplex will be separated physically, connected by a shared carport whose roof stretches between the buildings. The two-story homes will be built from modules manufactured by Reframe Systems at its factory in Andover, transported to Devens, and assembled on site.
According to Reframe’s application for a permit, each home will provide approximately 2,000 square feet of living space, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a front porch and back patio. The homes will be all-electric and designed to achieve a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating of 40, significantly below the HERS 60 rating required of new housing at Devens. The lower the HERS rating, the more energy-efficient the home.
The Devens Reuse Plan requires that 25% of homes be either low-income or workforce affordable. Two of the homes at Adams Circle will be available to families who earn 80% or less of the area median income (AMI) and one for families who earn up to 120% AMI. The remaining nine units will be sold at market rates.
Adding to Harvard’s inventory
The chair of Harvard’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, Arielle Jennings, confirmed this week that because the two 80% AMI units lie within Harvard’s historical boundaries, the two will count toward the town’s subsidized housing inventory, used to measure a community’s stock of affordable housing. According to Harvard’s 2024-2028 Housing Production Plan, the town has 117 qualified subsidized housing units, or 5.3% of the 2,199 year-round housing units enumerated in the 2020 Census, a shortfall of 103 units from the number required to prevent developments proposed under the state’s affordable housing law, Chapter 40B. Such developments are exempt from certain local zoning laws, such as density restrictions and some setback requirements, provided they meet affordability criteria. However, they are not exempt from all local and state regulations, such as those regulating wetlands.
Although the proposed workforce unit will not count toward Harvard’s subsidized housing total, Jennings told the Press the unit “is important to have” given the shortage of moderate-income housing in the region.
MassDevelopment has long had its eyes on Adams circle as a site for additional housing. The area is zoned residential and, thanks to the Army’s cleanup, meets standards for residential use set by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
A few steps remain before construction can begin. DEC Director Neil Angus told the Press that before the DEC can issue a building permit, Reframe must file site and subdivision plans with the Registry of Deeds.
