Pennrose: Town Needs To Support Development

 HARWICH – The message that came out of last week’s session between the affordable housing trust and Pennrose LLC, the company chosen to develop 60 units of affordable housing on six acres on the former Marceline property off Queen Anne Road, was that the town has to work with the developer in assuring public support for the project. 

It was clear that the developer and the trust are on the same page; the goal now is to bring stakeholders, local organizations and town officials together in support of the initiative.

“Your job is to build support for the zoning application going forward,” said Charles Adams, president of development for Pennrose. “This is something Harwich wanted and we’re responding to it.”

 Funds to purchase the 13-acre Marceline property were recommended by the community preservation committee and approved in town meeting to increase the affordable housing inventory in the town. 

“Some of us are frustrated it has taken so long to get to this point,” said Affordable Housing Trust Chair Larry Ballantine.

Pennrose was chosen last August as the developer for the project. It took time to work through the land lease agreements, but Adams said they are ready to get started now. 

While the design of the project is far from completed, the plan presented by Union Studio Architects calls for 60 units with a total of 90 bedrooms, and it has met with early approval from the trust. The design includes a U-shaped roadway with a collection of small townhouses with a rural character and no more than four units each, as well as a community facility and a 20,000-square-foot park under which the septic facilities will be located. The entrance would be located at 456 Queen Anne Rd.

Project manager Ryan Kiracofe said where it has developed projects, Pennrose is there for the long term, and the company knows the challenges of working the Cape. He said the company has developed a 65-unit development in Easthan; 62 units being completed in Orleans; and 48-unit and 42-unit projects in the works in Chatham. Pennrose also has a 92-unit project in Wareham.  

“We don’t want to build something the community is not proud of,” Kiracofe said. “We want to be invited back for the next project.”

“Our mission is to use the power of design to enrich lives and strengthen communities,” said Union Studio principal Paul Atteman.

While there was not a lot of initial design discussion with the trust, Atteman said there was enough information in the request for proposals to capture the character of the development. He said he also used the Cape Cod Commission community resilience program to address housing solutions in keeping with communities on Cape Cod. The design is representative of Cape Cod architecture, he said.

Kiracofe said public outreach is important and sessions will be held when the company gets to the 40 percent design phase.

Ballantine said he’d like to have the developer meet with the select board and get the housing committee and housing advocates involved in the initial stages. 

Pennrose regional vice president Karmen Cheung agreed it’s important to get the stakeholders involved as the project heads into the permitting process. 

Trust member Bob Spencer wanted to know if there is a good formula for developing public engagement. Cheung said it’s important the select board and the community preservation committee, which supported the funding, are actively involved in supporting the project. It’s also important for the select board to support the Local Initiative Program for the comprehensive permit application, she said.

Permitting will have to be in place before November to allow funding to be sought through the state Department of Housing and Livable Communities. Those funds would not be announced until January or February. Adams said some of the projects may not get funded in the first round. 

Spencer said as Pennrose looks to learn more about the community, it should look at the traffic study done for the Pine Oaks Village IV project at the other end of Queen Anne Road.

“Traffic concerns are a real problem, but housing is a big problem,” said trust member Julie Kavanagh.

“Housing as a generator of traffic is so minimal,” said Adams.  

Questions were asked about property management. Cheung said Pennrose will have onsite property management. 

“I think the plans look good, and the location is great,” said Art Bodin, a member of the housing committee. “There are projects in town that have traffic issues, and unfortunately others get painted by the same paint brush.”

    The trust and Pennrose representatives are discussing a trip to the Wareham project, which has similar characteristics to the Harwich design, to get a better sense of how this project will fit into the community.