Developers Propose Apartment Complex for Route 20 West

A developer is proposing to build more than 240 apartments at the intersection of Route 20 and Ames St., a project that seeks to use the state's Chapter 40B affordable housing law to bypass some local regulations. 

The Zoning Board of Appeals will open a public hearing on the proposal, known as Brookview Village, on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 7:30. 

The project proposes four buildings with a total of 243 apartments, as well as a club house and swimming pool on 18.7 acres of land. The property is currently zoned for industrial uses. 

City Councilor Matt Elder recently wrote an opinion piece for the Main Street Journal on the proposal, saying the sudden influx of housing will put pressure on the city's public safety and educational resources.

Elder also notes that the project was proposed before it was recently announced that as of the release of data from the 2010 census, Marlborough has achieved the state-mandated 10 percent affordable housing threshhold.

Reaching that level means the city has more power to control 40B projects, which otherwise give developers broad leeway to waive local zoning and planning regulations.