Cronin, who represents Shirley and the Shirley portion of Devens, spoke Sept. 2 at a meeting of the Devens Committee, attended by residents and officials. He answered questions about housing, healthcare, and the community’s future governance. Rezoning the center of Devens for housing is among his top priorities.
MassDevelopment Executive Vice President of Devens Operations Michael Sweeney has said the agency plans to seek a bylaw change in 2027 to allow housing in the Devens Innovation and Technology Center district, which includes Vicksburg Square. Sweeney is meeting with the managers of the three towns to work out the details, though the proposed language and voting process have not yet been made public.
“I plan on being there,” Cronin said, “advocating for the rezoning of Vicksburg Square.”
The change was recommended by Gov. Maura Healey’s Devens Housing Working Group in 2025 after it examined the feasibility of allowing up to 400 multifamily units in the district. Approval would make housing a permitted use; it would not approve a particular housing project.
Who gets to decide?
Under the current law governing Devens, a major zoning change must be approved separately by Town Meeting voters in Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley. A “No” vote at any one of the three town meetings can defeat the rezoning throughout the district.
That process became the subject of a legislative fight this summer.
Gov. Healey proposed replacing the three-town process with a single meeting at Devens as part of her Mass Wins economic development bill. Devens residents and community leaders supported the change, as did Cronin.
However, state Rep. Dan Sena, who represents all three towns, and state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who represents Ayer and Harvard, opposed the proposal. Sena successfully pushed to have it removed from the House version of the bill.
Cronin then sought to restore the provision in the Senate; it did not survive. Instead, the Senate version included a $5 million earmark for Vicksburg Square, tied to MassDevelopment’s commitment to proceed with the existing three-town process by spring 2027.
The economic development bill is now before a conference committee. The $5 million is not yet law and could be changed or removed as House and Senate negotiators reconcile their versions.
For Devens residents, the voting issue carries particular weight because they have no town government of their own. As explained in the accompanying “Devens at a glance,” MassDevelopment manages the district, while the five-member Devens Committee advises the agency and represents residents’ interests. For elections, residents register and vote in Ayer, Harvard, or Shirley according to the historical town boundary in which they live.
Cronin said he does not expect a change to the Super Town Meeting process before the Vicksburg proposal comes forward. The new Legislature will not be sworn in until January, he said, leaving too little time to pass legislation changing the process before spring.
He did not take a position on what the voting structure should look like in the future.
The cost of housing
Cronin called the shortage of housing an “existential crisis” and argued that Vicksburg Square cannot be redeveloped without substantial public and private investment.
He said he had proposed $5 million in state funding for site development before a recent assessment put the cost of stabilizing and removing hazardous materials from vacant buildings in the district at nearly $44 million.
The $5 million would not be enough by itself, he said. But state investment could help make the property attractive to a private developer.
“Things don’t get cheaper,” Cronin said, noting that the cost of addressing the buildings would have been far lower had the work begun a decade ago.
High interest rates, construction costs, tariffs on building materials, and labor shortages have made development increasingly difficult, Cronin said. Massachusetts’ $5 billion Affordable Homes Act, approved in 2024, represents a major state investment in housing, he said, but government money alone cannot produce the number of homes the state needs.
The Emerson Green project illustrates the type of public-private partnership that could be needed elsewhere in Devens. Construction is underway on the 46-unit apartment building at 77 Grant Road; as of Sept. 2, where about half of the foundation had been poured, according to a spokesperson for Elite Homebuilders, the contractor. Harvard’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust is contributing $1 million to deepen affordability of 12 of the 23 income-restricted units. Elite Homebuilders will own and operate the building.
The Harvard subsidy is expected to allow the town to count all 46 Emerson Green apartments toward its state subsidized housing inventory.
For now, the immediate question at Vicksburg is whether housing will be allowed there. Approval of a zoning change would open the door to development proposals; rejection would leave the current prohibition in place.
Looking beyond 2030
Cronin also addressed the longer-term question of Devens’ future governance.
He said he was comfortable with the timetable established by Chapter 498, the 1993 law that created Devens’ current governing structure. The law requires the three towns, MassDevelopment, and the Devens Enterprise Commission to begin studying permanent governance options by July 1, 2030, and submit their findings and a joint recommendation to the governor and Legislature by July 1, 2033.
A great deal could change before 2030, Cronin said, and he believes three years is sufficient time to prepare the required report.
That view differs from concerns raised recently about the pace of work on Devens’ future governance. Eldridge has pressed MassDevelopment to provide the financial information stakeholders need to evaluate future options. And at last Wednesday’s meeting, former Devens Committee member Tracy Clark urged the agency to become more actively involved in jurisdiction planning.
Cronin said legislators should nevertheless remain involved and ensure residents have a voice in the process.
For now, he said, the more immediate crisis is housing. He believes Vicksburg Square should move forward and says he will advocate for the proposal when it comes before the public.
The larger questions about Devens’ future governance remain, including what role residents will play in shaping it.
Devens at a glance
What is Devens?
The Devens Regional Enterprise Zone (DREZ) is a 4,400-acre redevelopment district created by the state in 1993, with the agreement and participation of Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley, from the former Fort Devens military base. The state established a separate governmental structure to oversee its redevelopment. Devens is home to more than 950 residents and 100 businesses and organizations, which employ an estimated 10,000 people.
Who governs Devens?
MassDevelopment, successor to the Massachusetts Government Land Bank, owns and manages the property and provides municipal services. Under Chapter 498, it is the state agency exclusively authorized to oversee Devens’ redevelopment.
Who regulates development?
The Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC) is the DREZ’s local regulatory and permitting authority. It performs the functions of a planning board, conservation commission, board of health, zoning board of appeals, and historic district commission; and operates a unified permitting system. The commission also exercises certain powers ordinarily held by a local select board, including issuing and renewing alcoholic-beverage licenses and discontinuing a street or public way, after not ice and a public hearing, with MassDevelopment’s approval.
Who represents Devens residents?
A five-member Devens Committee is elected by Devens residents to advise MassDevelopment and represent residents’ interests. It does not have the authority of a local select board. MassDevelopment administers its elections; Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley have no role in them.
For voting purposes, Devens residents register in Ayer, Harvard, or Shirley, according to the historical town boundary in which their home is located. Once registered and otherwise qualified, they may vote there in municipal, state, and federal elections.
Why is its future being debated?
Chapter 498 established the Devens governance as an interim structure and requires the state, the three towns, MassDevelopment, and the DEC to address its permanent future. By July 1, 2030, they must begin a study of permanent government options. By July 1, 2033, they must submit the study and a joint recommendation to the governor and Legislature. The law calls for consideration of alternatives including town government and various joint arrangements.
What’s at stake?
At issue for Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley is the future of land within their historical boundaries, along with responsibility and authority for government, services, development, and infrastructure.
For Devens residents, the question includes how their community will be governed, how they will participate in decisions affecting them, and how municipal services will be provided. Their interests may overlap with those of the surrounding towns, but they do not necessarily coincide.
The fundamental question
What form of government will best serve the future of Devens and its residents and businesses while addressing the interests and responsibilities of the three towns? —JO
