By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
7/2/09
Milton Partners LLC wants to increase the height of the proposed residential building at 36 Central Ave. some 30 inches in order to meet its needs of planned construction on the property.
The company is beginning to build Residences at Brook Hill, a planned unit development in the heart of Central Avenue business district, where shops like Radio Coffeehouse and Esprit du Vin are nestled near the Boston line. Last summer, the Planning Board granted a special mixed-use permit for the development, including 18 residential condominium units on the upper floors, with three additional business units downstairs. The permit requires that two of the condos be “affordable” units and the 884 square feet of business space be used strictly for office space.
According to the Building Department, which granted a permit to build in February, the project is valued at $3.09 million.
In a letter to the Planning Board last month, Milton Partners said the building’s height needs to be raised slightly to give the living quarters 8-foot-high ceilings – making them more attractive on the market.
“After doing marketing research with local real estate brokers, we realize the current finished ceiling heights of less than [8 feet] on the second, third and fourth floors will have a significantly negative impact on the marketability of these homes,” states the letter, which is signed by Milton Partners’ Paul Sullivan and Michael Roberts.
The alterations would require a public hearing and approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals, which is planning a mid-July hearing, Town Planner Bill Clark said last week. Following that, the Planning Board would have to endorse an amendment to its permit, which could happen as soon as the board’s July 23 meeting.
In the meantime, Clark said the developers are still able to go in and do site work as they prepare to begin major construction.
“This [new request] doesn’t preclude them from doing site work and work to the foundation. They are still doing that,” he said.