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Morgan Woods Housing Plans
Occupancy in May |
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Martha's Vineyard Times |
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By: Susan Vaughn |
January 25, 2007 |
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Anyone who hasn't ventured off Edgartown Road onto South 12th Street recently is in for a big surprise, where the street ends and opens into Morgan Woods, a whole new village of attractive homes. Yes, homes.
Martha's Vineyard's first large affordable housing project looks like anything but what one might expect of "a project." Even in its unfinished state, with muddy roads, no landscaping, and units in varying degrees of completion, one can envision how attractive the complex will be when it is completed this summer.
"The residents of Edgartown expect an attractive development," Alan Gowell, chairman of the Edgartown affordable housing committee, said during a recent tour provided for The Times.
"Thirty-one weeks and 80 percent completion," he said as he watched one of the last modular units being hoisted by a crane onto its foundation. The project's construction phase began in June with clearing of the 12-acre woodland site. Occupancy by the first group of tenants is planned for May, with full occupancy expected in July, several weeks ahead of the original schedule.
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This corner bedroom has plenty of light, baseboard heating, and a closet. It will be carpeted as will all bedrooms and living room and dining areas in the units.
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The
60-unit,
$15.7
million
development
was
officially
named
by
the
town
selectmen
last
week
"Morgan
Woods"
in
honor
of
Fred
B.
"Ted"
Morgan.
The
former
selectman
and
chairman
of
the
affordable
housing
committee
spearheaded
the
development
in
1998
when
he
pushed
the
town
to
purchase
by
eminent
domain
a
175-acre
wooded
municipal
parcel
between
Edgartown-Vineyard
Haven
Road
and
West
Tisbury
Road.
In
1999,
the
town
placed
118.7
acres
of
the
land
under
conservation
restrictions
held
by
the
Martha's
Vineyard
Land
Bank.
The
remaining
57
acres
were
set
aside
in
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two
parcels
for
future
municipal
uses.
In
2001,
voters
at
town
meeting
designated
12
acres
of
the
southern
parcel
for
affordable
housing.
After
public
hearings
and
meetings,
the
town
submitted
a
final
proposal
to
the
Martha's
Vineyard
Commission
(MVC)
for
a
special
permit
as a
development
of
regional
impact
(DRI).
The
MVC
held
its
first
public
hearing
on
the
project
on
May
20,
2004.
On
July
22,
2004,
after
much
wrangling
over
issues
such
as
traffic,
density,
and
environmental
concerns,
the
MVC
voted
unanimously
to
approve
the
project,
along
with
a
hefty
list
of
conditions.
Two
months
later,
the
town
signed
a
right-of-way
easement
with
the
Vineyard
Golf
Club,
which
allowed
the
town
to
run
sewer
lines
through
the
golf
club
property
to
the
development. |
Chart provided by TCB
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Now
the
long-awaited
development
is
almost
a
reality.
The
complex
of
21
buildings
is
spread
out
generously
over
the
cleared
land
and
arranged
in
three
clusters
with
a
commons,
or
green,
at
the
center
of
each.
The
design
is
based
on a
traditional
New
England
village
that
developed
around
a
farmhouse
and
a
barn
and
then
added
other
buildings,
Mr.
Gowell
explained.
The
"barn"
buildings,
to
be
painted
a
shade
of
dark
red,
as
yet
to
be
determined,
serve
as a
focal
point
for
each
cluster.
They
house
three
two-story
townhouses.
Next
to
the
barns
are
the
"farmhouses,"
which
will
be
the
only
units
with
painted
clapboard
siding
on
the
two-story
portion.
The
rest
of
the
buildings
will
be
sided
with
natural
cedar
shingles.
Each
of
the
two
or
three
apartments
in a
building
has
a
usable
front
porch
looking
out
toward
the
central
common
and
each
has
a
private
patio
looking
into
the
surrounding
woods.
The
arrangement
was
designed
"in
an
effort
to
build
a
sense
of
community,
so
people
could
see
their
children
playing
in
the
front,
and
still
have
a
picnic
in
the
back,"
Mr.
Gowell
said.
"We
think
the
scale
is
small
enough
so
people
could
get
to
know
their
neighbors."
No
two
buildings
in a
cluster
will
look
exactly
alike.
The
five
building
styles
are
arranged
in
different
combinations
of
one-story
ranches
and
two-story
townhouses
of
one-,
two-
or
three-bedroom
units.
"We
want
a
variety
(of
houses)
-
like
a
normal
neighborhood,"
Mr.
Gowell
said.
Each
apartment
will
have
a
cement
patio
and
a
tool
shed
in
the
back.
Extra
storage
will
be
provided,
but
it
hasn't
been
determined
how
that
will
be
accommodated.
Each
building
has
a
partial
basement
that
will
house
the
heating
units
and
crawl
space.
The
apartment
interiors
have
a
spacious
feeling
created
by
ample
windows
and
open
floor
plans
for
most
with
adjoining
living,
dining
and
kitchen
areas.
One
of
the
three-bedroom
handicapped
units
feels
extra
spacious
with
its
wide
doorways
and
hallways
to
accommodate
wheelchairs.
The
units
will
have
refrigerators,
ranges,
dishwashers
and
carpeting
in
all
rooms
except
the
kitchen
and
baths,
which
will
have
solid
vinyl
tiles
in a
modern
checkerboard
design,
according
to
project
architect
John
Winslow
of
Winslow
Architect
Inc.
of
Cambridge.
Other
amenities
will
include
ceramic
tile
in
the
entries,
solid
wood
cabinetry
and
fully
laminated
counters
in
faux-granite
finish.
A
space
with
utility
connections
is
cut
out
in
each
unit
near
the
bedrooms
for
a
washer
and
dryer.
A
model
unit
will
soon
be
available
for
viewing.
The
buildings
in
Morgan
Woods
must
be
Energy
Star
compliant,
following
federal
guidelines
for
windows,
heating,
hot
water
and
insulation.
Inspectors
will
check
to
make
sure
the
units
are
in
compliance.
The
modular
units,
which
have
been
arriving
on
the
Island
by
barge
every
Friday
for
many
weeks,
were
built
by
Keiser
Industries
of
Oxford,
Maine,
and
are
being
assembled
by a
large
group
of
workers
from
Williams
Building
Co.
of
South
Yarmouth.
Williams
also
built
the
Vineyard's
elderly
housing
complexes.
As
soon
as
the
houses
are
unwrapped
from
their
plastic
covering,
the
workers
hustle
to
get
the
shingles
on
the
roofs
to
protect
them
from
the
weather.
Mr.
Gowell
noted
how
hard
and
fast
the
building
crews
have
worked.
TCB
of
Boston,
which
stands
for
The
Community
Builders,
is
the
general
contractor,
lease-holder,
and
management
company
for
the
project.
TCB,
which
started
in
the
1960s
under
another
name
by
building
a
public
housing
complex
in
Boston's
South
End.
The
company
is
now
the
country's
largest
non-profit
affordable
housing
developer
with
a
$40
million
annual
budget.
The
company
has
built
274
affordable
and
mixed-income
housing
projects
in
14
states,
as
far
west
as
Chicago
and
Louisville
and
south
to
North
Carolina,
and
it
has
also
completed
public
housing
transformations.
It
is
currently
managing
7,000
units
in
more
than
90
developments.
TCB
holds
a
99-year
lease
on
the
property
from
the
town
and
has
totally
funded
the
construction
and
development
through
various
funding
sources,
including
a
$4.9
million
private
mortgage,
$3.5
million
in
state
grants
and
the
rest
through
subsidies
and
federal
low-income
housing
tax
credit
equity
raised
through
private
investors,
according
to
Beverly
Gallo,
TCB
project
manager.
Financing
sources
for
this
project
include
MassHousing,
the
Affordable
Housing
Trust,
and
the
Housing
Stabilization
Fund.
"TCB
makes
enough
to
operate
the
property
and
pay
the
mortgage,"
Ms.
Gallo
said.
Because
of
the
company's
not-for-profit
status
and
the
tax
credits,
it
is
only
meant
to
break
even,
she
said.
TCB
will
serve
as
the
rental
and
managing
agent
for
the
property.
It
has
set
up
guidelines
for
the
housing
applicants
based
on
federal,
state,
and
county
regulations.
The
units
will
be
assigned
to
families
of
varying
incomes,
ranging
from
under
30
percent
to
140
percent
of
Dukes
County's
2006
median
income
of
$68,300.
The
town's
only
costs
connected
with
the
project
include
an
appropriation
of
approximately
$400,000
to
build
or
add
on
to
streets
connecting
to
the
housing
site
and
to
install
town
water
mains
and
wastewater
connections
to
the
edge
of
the
site,
according
to
Mr.
Gowell.
Those
street
improvements
included
an
extension
of
South
12th
Street
and
connecting
both
ends
of
South
10th
Street
to
provide
access
to
the
site.
Mr.
Gowell
said
he
expects
10th
Street
will
be
paved
in
the
spring.
The
project
was
approved
with
one
access
road,
but
the
town
has
assured
the
neighborhood
that
it
will
continue
to
look
for
other
means
of
access,
Mr.
Gowell
said.
Another
access
road
may
eventually
connect
the
development
to
West
Tisbury
Road
through
Metcalf
Drive,
he
said.
"The
key
to
affordable
housing
is
access,"
he
said.
"It's
fairest
to
have
multiple
accesses
so
one
neighborhood
doesn't
take
the
brunt."
However,
he
added
that
the
residents
of
12th
Street
have
been
"terrific"
in
supporting
the
project.
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