Swampscott will host a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at 889 Burrill Street to review schematic design plans for the Veterans Crossing housing project.
In recent years, Swampscott has prioritized affordable housing, particularly for residents over 55 years old as well as veterans. At the 2023 Town Meeting, Swampscott residents approved the acquisition and redevelopment of 12-24 Pine St. for veteran housing. The neighborhood meeting is the next step in the building process.
“We encourage all residents and interested parties to attend and share their comments on the proposed project,” the town stated on its website.
B’nai B’rith Housing responded to Swampscott’s request for proposal (RFP) to develop the Pine Street site in August of 2023. A land agreement was signed in December of 2024. Senior Project Managers Holly Grace and Yara Vergucht spoke at the Select Board meeting on June 4 about the schematics.
The nonprofit previously developed The Machon, an affordable senior housing complex in Swampscott, in 2021.
“Consistement with the land agreement, we have developed plans that tonight we’re going to review, and the land agreement requires the Select Board to review and approve the plans to make sure we’re consistent with what was laid out in the land agreement,” Grace said.
The proposed Veterans Crossing project includes 41 one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments, each approximately 600 sq. ft. The apartment layouts include full kitchens with dishwashers.
“It’s all seniors and older adults aged 55 and older, with a preference for veterans and a local preference to the extent allowed by the state,” Grace said.
Shared amenities would include a community room, fitness center and laundry facilities. Two elevators would reach each floor.
There would also be a parking lot with 35 parking lot spots, with two handicap spots. The parking area is planned to be adjacent to the more commercial use area on the street, with the building close to the corner of Erie Street.
The existing culvert will be relocated further into the parking area.
The design is “inspired by the surrounding residential neighborhood with a traditional New England coast style,” Grace said.
“In our most recent developments, we are passive-house certified and all electric and extremely green. I would imagine we’d do something similar here,” Grace said. “The architects are still at this very conceptual level, and we have not yet engaged mechanical engineers and things like that, but it would be a very high standard of green, which is what the state requires for affordable housing.”
The three-story building will include 23 units that are at an income limit of 30% of the area medium income, according to Vergucht. The other 18 units will be affordable to income maximum limits of 60% of the area medium income (AMI), which Grace said is about a $69,000 annual income for a one-person household.
Grace said B’nai B’rith would work with Soldier On, a Massachusetts nonprofit that focuses on veteran services. Soldier On would provide resident service coordination and work with the property management to “help residents as they age.”
“They have strong experiences with veterans and the issues that they face and the services that are available to them,” Grace said.
Once the Select Board approves the plans, B’nai B’rith will submit to the Zoning Board a 40B process, which will potentially allow for waived local zoning requirements and more flexible zoning standards to build the affordable housing project.
