Density and cost is focus of latest hearing on senior development

The public hearing on the senior development proposed for land at Regis College continued at the Planning Board meeting, March 18, with discussion of unit mix, project density and environmental impact being of chief concern. Abutters and board members focused on affordability of independent living for Weston seniors as well as plans for wastewater treatment and impacts of traffic and lighting on the neighborhood.

HYM Investment Group of Boston is seeking to build a senior living complex on 30 acres of Regis College land at 300 Wellesley St. Developing the parcel requires approval of a zoning bylaw amendment at Town Meeting and special permit approval. Although the company had expressed their desire to see the project on the spring Town Meeting warrant, the Planning Board, concerned that time was insufficient to address the community’s many reservations about the project, recommended to the Select Board that it be pushed to Town Meeting next fall.

HYM has proposed 24 independent-living cottages, a main building with 131 independent-living units, 40 assisted-living units and 20 memory care units on the site.

Planning Board Chair Leslie Glynn asked if the scale was right for the neighborhood.

“From a housing standpoint, is this really the right mix?” she said. “Do we need more assisted living, fewer assisted living? More independent?”

Glynn said she was hoping to reduce the number of units in order to move from needing a water treatment system to a septic system, “but that would require a significant reduction in bedroom units, so I don’t think that’s going to be an indicator for us.”

Resident Alan Day said affordability should be a factor, citing a Council on Aging study that placed more than half of Weston’s older residents as relying on less than $75,000 per year in income.

“In order to be more responsive to the town’s actual elderly population, it would need to be a larger number of affordable units,” he said.

The cost of different types of housing was not presented by HYM. Various websites provide a price range for independent living in the region from $11,000 to $15,000 a month and higher, depending on the level of care and services needed.

Planning Board member Al Aydelott said the density discussion should hold until the board was clear on what could be built on the lot.

“Once we know more about the characteristics and what’s buildable on the site, after the peer reviews and in the areas of traffic, soils testing and wetlands testing, then we know how much land on the site is actually usable,” he said. “Then we can start getting into characteristics and the scale and density will start to come into play.”

Doug Manz, HYM Chief Investment Officer, said the mix of units would be based on market demand, with independent living units seeing higher demand than memory care and assisted living.

“Most people want to stay in independent living as long as they can, and that’s where many do reside for a period of time,” he said. “The cottages tend to be popular because people are downsizing from pretty large homes and the cottage gives them some ability to have a bit more room as they downsize over time.”

Manz added that the company was open to finding creative ways to reduce the project footprint, but it was unlikely the project could be downsized enough for it to go on a regular septic system.

“That would only be 66 units. That would not be something we would be looking to go forward with,” he said. “It’s a dramatic reduction. But that said, reducing the impacted area is definitely something we will be looking at over the next few weeks.”

The hearing was continued with plans for more detailed discussion about density at the next Planning Board meeting on April 1.