By Adam Swift
The city council approved a special permit for a 50-unit mixed-use development at 114 Shirley Ave. its regular meeting last week.
The developer, Trichilo Development of 13 Victoria Street in Revere, is requesting a special permit from the city council to raze the existing building and build a new five-story building with two commercial units on the ground floor and 48 residential units on the upper floors.
Project attorney Joseph Cattoggio said the project is slightly smaller than the 52 residential unit plan that was originally presented to the city’s site plan review committee.
At last week’s zoning subcommittee meeting prior to the regular council meeting, Cattoggio also noted that the developer is committed to putting $20,000 into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
“This is something that we discussed, it is not a precedent we are looking for for any other developers, we are just looking to address a concern that was made,” he said.
Councillor-at-Large Juan Pablo Jaramillo said he was concerned that there was not a greater effort to include affordable housing provisions within the project.
“The folks involved in this project are good people, but I do worry that we are missing the mark on workforce housing here, and $20,000 doesn’t even cover, at 80 percent AMI (Area Median Income), one year’s rent for one person,” Jaramillo said.
Jaramillo initially requested that the $20,000 amount be included in the special permit conditions, but later withdrew his motion.
Several councillors raised concerns that including the affordable housing trust amount in the special permit would set a bad precedent for other developments in the city.
There were also some questions raised about the potential use of one of the commercial spaces on the first floor by the city’s Public Arts Commission.
Cattoggio said the developers were approached by Brian Harkins about the possibility of the arts commission using one of the two commercial spaces, but that there was no deal in place.
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky said that there are no commitments for either of the commercial units, and that the public arts commission would have to work with the mayor if it were to lease space on private property.
“(Harkins) has been looking for something even now that they could utilize for the arts on Shirley Avenue,” said Novoselsky.
However, Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna, who chairs the arts commission, said it is not likely it will be leasing private space in the near future.
“We don’t have any money, we have zero in the bank account,” she said.
With the city committed to building a new high school, McKenna said it would be difficult to commit additional funds to leasing property for the arts commission. Jaramillo and Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley cast the two dissenting votes against the special permit for 114 Shirley Ave. during the regular meeting
