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IN THE NEWS
The conversion of the former Hamilton House Nursing
Home into the Chestnut Hollow Apartments in Needham
was a high profile project because of Needham's critical
need for rental housing. There was overwhelming
community support for this housing initiative, which
was crucial in gaining the Needham Zoning Board of
Appeals' (ZBA) approval to grant the variances
necessary for the project. Prior to granting the
variances required for Chestnut Hollow, the Needham
ZBA had not granted a variance since 1987.
The
Needham newspapers wrote extensively about
the Chestnut Hollow project. The articles below explain
the challenges that needed to be overcome to enable
the project to move forward and describe the widespread
community support for the Chestnut Hollow Apartments
and their benefit to the town of Needham.
When
Needham resident Jeff Roche approached the Planning Board with a plan
to transform the old Hamilton House nursing home at 141 Chestnut St. into
an affordable housing complex, the board told him to get creative to solve
the parking problem.
If
tweaking the existing 14-spot lot and getting an agreement from a neighbor
to rent some additional spots would be considered creative, the plan Roche
unveiled Tuesday night would be a Picasso.
Roche
told the Planning Board Tuesday that he plans to remove the front portion
of the existing building and tack it on the back to create an additional
13 spaces on the site. In addition, Roche said he has an agreement with
the Needham VFW post to rent an additional 10 spots for the next 10 years
with an option to extend.
Roche
said the square footage of the building would remain virtually the same
- a little less than 25,000 square
feet - and that he still plans
The building would also remain within the three-story height restriction.
The
only catch is that he could guarantee only three units to be used for affordable housing. Roche
said he would like to guarantee more, but he would have to see how the finances shake out.
"I've
committed a minimum number of units, but the maximum hasn't been set,"
said Roche.Currently,
Roche has a purchase-and-sale agreement that he is paying while he explores
his options. If the deal were finalized, Roche would pay more than $1 million
for the 25,000-square foot building and sink another $2 million into renovations.
Originally, he planned to put $1 million into renovations.The
plan is for the building to house 12 two-bedroom apartments, 15 one-bedroom
apartments, and a studio.In
order for Roche to proceed, he will need approval from both the Zoning Board
of Appeals and the Planning Board.
Roche will need a special
permit on parking as well as zoning. Currently the zoning laws in the Chestnut
Street district prohibit residential use on any floor except the second.
Under
the current bylaw, parking for apartment 1.5 spots per unit.
Roche also indicated
that he would prefer to take the traditional route in getting his plans
approved rather than seeking a state variance, called a chapter 40B, that
would essentially side-step the local process."If
we knew it would be impossible to get a [town] variance, we'd go with the 40B," said attorney Roy Cramer, who represented
Roche. "But the 40B
Cramer added that Needham
has had only one 40B done and that was nearly 40 years ago, so he didn't
know what kind of reaction it would get.Another
option would have been to keep the existing structure intact, add the 10
parking spots from theVFW and try to get a parking waiver from the Planning Board.
Instead, Roche opted
to knock off the front of the building and add the spots on site."That
building is oddly shaped," said board member Paul Killeen. "I
can only say you're doing the right thing trying to get rid of the front.
I think it would be a wonderful improvement.""Jeff
Roche is a resident in town and he's very sensitive to the concerns of Needham
residents," said Cramer. "We came up with this option, and I think
it's a very generous alternative." 
