Mixed luxury, lower-income apartment complex coming to Southboro

Friday

Jan 4, 2013 at 6:00 AMJan 4, 2013 at 4:43 PM

By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

On a hill on Crystal Pond Road above Route 9 East a large luxury apartment complex is being constructed with an eye toward luring some of the 5,000 workers being relocated to companies in nearby Marlboro.

Madison Place at Southboro will consist of 11 three-story buildings with140 one- and two-bedroom rental apartments on about 17 acres. The market rate two-bedroom, two-bath units will rent for $1,900 to $2,000 a month. Monthly rent for the one-bedroom, one-bath units will be $1,500 to $1,550.

The project is being built under Chapter 40B, the state law designed to increase the supply of lower-cost housing. Thirty-five of the 140 apartments will be offered to households earning not more than 80 percent of the area median income, adjusted for household size. Seventy percent of the lower cost units will go to people who are town residents or employees of the town or the Northboro-Southboro Regional School district.

Under state Chapter 40B, the development, situated in an office park within an industrial zone, will be able to circumvent some of the town's zoning and other local bylaws and regulations because less than 10 percent of the town's housing units are considered by the state to be affordable to low- to moderate-income residents. Madison Place at Southboro will bring the town's affordable units from 3.4 percent to 7.2 percent.

Robert E. Moss of Westboro, owner of the development, bought the hillside lot from New York-based Park Central Realty Trust for $2.1 million. He has 32 years of experience of constructing mostly single-family homes in Shrewsbury, Northboro, Westboro and Southboro. Last year he completed the 96-unit Madison Place in Shrewsbury. He has a proposal to construct Madison Place in Sudbury.

Mr. Moss said the development will satisfy the need for rental housing and affordable housing identified by the town's 2008 master plan and 2004 affordable housing plan. He said no rental housing has been built in Southboro since the 1980s.

“It's pretty obvious that unlike Shrewsbury, there's almost no rental property in Southboro. There's also a need for affordable units. So it's kind of satisfying two specific needs.”

Mr. Moss said he was attracted to the Southboro site because access to the development is Route 9 and it is close to Route 495 and the Mass Turnpike. The development will also be about three miles from the MBTA station in Southboro.

With construction expected to be completed the end of this year, Mr. Moss said he hopes to be able to attract some of the 5,000 workers that will relocate to Marlboro with TJX, Boston Scientific and Quest Diagnostic.

“They're all probably well-paid jobs. And I think some of those people will find our location to be attractive. It's all good timing,” he said.

Some of the amenities will include high-end appliances, granite, marble, Kohler plumbing fixtures, high ceilings and art work in the hallways. Each apartment will also have a home office.

“Our experience in Shrewsbury is we have a lot of people working out of their homes. This will enable them to set up work stations independent of the normal family room,” Mr. Moss said.

The town will receive $338,000 in mitigation money for upgrades to the police and fire dispatch system and for recreation.

The development will be served by town water and a common subsurface sewage disposal system. An on-site treatment facility will handle the proposed 21,560 gallons of wastewater per day.