Manor on North eyed for age-restricted housing

The transformation of the former Sunrise Assisted Living facility on North Avenue, also known as the historic Drabbington Lodge, could begin as soon as this fall.

Developer and resident Robert Parsekian is planning to turn the 126-year-old building at 135 North Ave. into a 17-unit, age-restricted apartment building named Manor on North. Over the last year, the project has received the Planning Board’s site plan approval and a partial demolition permit from the Historical Commission, as well as approvals from the Fire Department and Board of Health.

Thomas Timko, chair of the Elderly Housing Committee, has been working alongside Parsekian and said an interior demolition permit is likely to be issued for the building soon, which will allow Parsekian and his team to finish design work. He noted utilities and their infrastructure are really the “only challenging stuff from a code standpoint” that still remain.

“We don’t have an absolutely final design because we need to see under the covers, but we have a pretty good direction, and I think we’ll see that first demolition permit within the next week or two,” Timko said in an interview. “If we can start demolition within the next month, I think we will be substantially complete by the end of next year.”

Financing for the project is in process, and the Select Board at its Sept. 23 meeting helped Manor on North take the next step forward by authorizing a non-binding letter of intent, a requirement from the lenders for the development. Select Board members, though, asked several questions about the financial analysis and requested more data as the project progresses.

This letter, drafted jointly by town counsel and the property owner, does not financially commit Weston to Manor on North, but it allows the process to be studied further.

The proposal contemplates a lease to the town of the property, under which the town would agree to pay rent to the property owner and also assume all costs of operations and normal maintenance and repairs. The property owner would be required to perform, at its expense, any needed capital projects. The expectation is that rental revenues from the tenant leases would be set by the town to derive adequate funds to cover all town costs.

Four units would be affordable and the remaining 13 would be rented at a range between 80% to 120% of area median income, according to Timko.

Select Board Chair Lise Revers expressed concern about a potential $540,000 annual payment to lease the building, pointing to a need for more financial analysis and volatile construction costs.

“Isn’t that a huge risk for Mr. Parsekian? And also the town would have to approve any agreement, it would have to go to a vote at Town Meeting, which is also very risky,” Revers said. “I’m a little concerned that we’re going to get into a situation where we move forward with this and construction costs are more than expected and the $540,000 is deemed not enough to cover a return on investments for Bob.”

The $540,000 lease payment is calculated based on an average monthly rental fee of $2,647 for the 17 units over the course of a year and would cover Parsekian’s costs. Timko noted rent, specifically from the market-rate apartments, would cover this payment to the developer, as well as the building’s operating and maintenance costs. Any additional revenue would flow into the Brook School Enterprise fund.

Parsekian said there was a financial risk for him if the town pulled out, but residents have supported the project in the past – residents approved a zoning change for the project at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting – and he is “fairly confident” it can be successful.

Timko added in an interview they will have a more “rock-solid handle on the costs” in the near future.

“I’d say by Jan. 1, we’d have more clarity on things.”

Housing crunch

As in the rest of the state, more housing is sorely needed in Weston.

Timko’s presentation to the Select Board underscored the need for more senior housing. The Brook School currently has 75 units, housing 88 residents, 31 of whom are Weston-affiliated. Fifty-five of those units are voucher-subsidized housing, while the remaining 20 are considered “market rate.”

The demand continues to grow, though. There are currently more than 150 people on the waiting list for Brook School and the average time on the list is a minimum of three years.

“From a mathematical sense, we have a multi-decade backlog,” Timko said at the meeting, “which is why we’re really looking forward to having some additional units on board.”