Development Agreement Reached For Former Marceline Property

HARWICH – The affordable housing trust has signed an agreement and lease with Pennrose LLC, the development company that will build 60 housing units on a portion of the former Marceline property at 456 Queen Anne Rd. 
 The agreements grant a lease of six acres of the property for 99 years, for which Pennrose will pay the trust. Pennrose was chosen as the developer last August out of three developers who submitted proposals. 
 The Pennrose proposal was considered the most highly advantageous of the three respondents by the town’s designer review committee, and it received high marks for the private company’s ability to finance the project. Pennrose, a Pennsylvania-based company, built a development in Eastham and is working on projects in Orleans and Chatham.
The plan calls for 42 of the rental units to be restricted to households at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), with at least 10 of those units restricted to extremely low-income households at or below 30 percent AMI. Nine units will be restricted for rental at or below 80 percent AMI and another nine rental units at or below 100 percent AMI.
Pennrose and the trust were scheduled to hold a public session on the development proposal and concept plans for the project at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at the town hall hearing room, said AHT Chair Larry Ballantine. It was an opportunity for the public to ask questions, he said. 
Pennrose described the project in its proposal as being “rooted in Harwich’s traditional design…and a community centered feel. The proposal includes a variety of residential building types and styles and a standalone community building, all organized around thoughtfully designed open spaces that invite connection.”
 The project will require a 40B comprehensive permit to be issued by the appeals board, which requires that at least 25 percent of the units be reserved for households below 80 percent AMI. The premises and improvements shall be used exclusively for affordable- or moderate-income rental housing and uses incidental thereto, as set forth in the comprehensive permit, according to the agreement.
There is a provision requiring the developer to pursue approval of a preference for up to 70 percent of the units to be reserved for applicants who “reside in, work in, or who have been hired to work in the town of Harwich.” 
The agreement requires that Pennrose submit an application to the board of appeals within 180 days of the date of the signing of the agreement, which was May 7.
The agreement also calls for the premises to be managed by a property management company that has a good business and character reputation in the community and proven property management experience with affordable housing developments.