Sundae School Project Downsized; To Be Changed From Condos To Rentals

HARWICH – The Campanelli Company is proposing a major downsizing and a shift from condominiums to rental units for the development proposed at the Sundae School property in Harwich Port.

 A new set of plans for development of the site was filed with the planning board on Nov. 21. It includes a reduction in the size of units — which will be rented rather than owned as condominiums — removal of the underground garage, a reduction in massing and scale by 42 percent and a new facade design. 

 “The modified facade design is organized to appear to be a collection of townhouses, each with slightly different elements pulling directly from nearby architecture,” Russell Dion, a partner with Campanelli Company, and project architect, wrote in a letter accompanying the plans. 

The planning board has held five hearings on the 28-unit condominium project initially proposed on the 1.75-acre parcel across from the Melrose Inn Condos.

The hearings have drawn loud protests from residents of the neighborhood protesting that the project is too big for the site. Residents have taken issue with the scale, design and operational features, claiming the proposed building is incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood and the traffic generated will cause safety problems.

The project proponents said the condominium project conforms to all of the requirements for a multifamily use in the zoning districts, and the planning board held a straw vote in its last meeting showing support for the project on a 4-3 vote. It was determined that a super-majority vote was necessary for approval, which sent the Campanelli Company back to the drawing board.

“We are confident the future revised design meets all of [the Harwich zoning bylaw] criteria and dimensional regulations, just as the current compliant plans have as endorsed by the town planner and the majority of the board members,” Dion wrote. “Like the current project, the revised design is responsive to peer review, town staff’s concerns, and objectively measurable neighborhood concern.”

Dion’s letter noted that the revised design is a less intensive version of the current project in terms of stormwater, traffic and septic, and the project should be even less impactful and more appropriate in terms of operation than the current project.

 The new plan reduces building height from 39.4 feet to 29.4 feet, reducing the structure from three to two stories. The average unit size would be reduced by 41 percent. It removes nearly 42 percent of the above-ground massing, originally 616,587 cubic feet to 254,873 cubic feet. It eliminates the underground garage parking area and roof decks, while increasing ground level recreational space.

 The number of bedrooms will be reduced from 60 to 41, further reducing building occupancy, traffic volume and nitrogen loading, according to Dion’s assessment. The units will be rented rather than condominium ownership, Dion also wrote.

 The planning board was scheduled on Tuesday night to begin its deliberation on the newly proposed rental unit complex.