Pennrose Reduces Bedroom Count On Meetinghouse Rd. Project

CHATHAM – The latest plans for Pennrose’s proposed affordable housing development on Meetinghouse Road includes three fewer bedrooms than the initial plans, although the number of units remains the same.

The project includes 42 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in eight buildings on the site, which encompasses 4.12 acres, an increase of about half an acre, after Pennrose purchased a neighboring property at 87 Meetinghouse Rd. The single-family home on the 87 Meetinghouse Rd. property will be demolished.

The latest plans were presented to the zoning board of appeals last Thursday, July 16, the most recent of several comprehensive permit hearings held on the proposal.

 The plans also increase the number of parking spaces to 67, add a second dumpster area and a covered bicycle storage area that will accommodate 24 bikes, according to Pennrose attorney Andrew Singer.

 Singer said the change in the number of bedrooms from the 75 initially proposed to 72 is the result of the reconfiguration and redesign of the buildings and units to fit better on the site. The original plans called for 14 one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units; the most recent configuration shows 16 one-bedroom apartments, 22 two-bedroom units and four three-bedroom units.

 Pennrose’s decision to provide pedestrian access to Meetinghouse Road via the adjacent Old Colony Railtrail remains an issue. Although many have requested that a sidewalk be built on the road to connect to sidewalks on Route 28, Singer said topography, the need for extensive grading and possibly a retaining wall to accommodate a sidewalk — a gully runs between the road and the project site — makes it “not economic and practical” for the development to bear the cost.

 Pennrose and the town will add a sidewalk on the east side of Meetinghouse Road from the bike trail to the Route 28 sidewalk, but extending the sidewalk further up Meetinghouse Road is a “town-wide issue,” Singer said, and should be addressed by the town. He said Pennrose would work with the town to secure grants or other funding for such a project.

 The hearing was continued to Aug. 6, at which time the zoning board expects to begin developing conditions for the comprehensive permit.