Builders eye June start for Baker Avenue Novo apartment complex
Nearly three years after its proposal, crews might soon break ground on the 201-unit Novo Riverside Commons.
Nearly three years after its proposal, crews might soon break ground on a 201-unit apartment complex on Baker Avenue.
Novo Riverside Commons will include 51 affordable units and span two buildings next to the former Welch’s headquarters in West Acton.
Developers working for Taurus Investment Holdings announced a new funding plan this month, and Taurus staffer Chris Bornhorst said they expect to start work in June.
While teasing a summer start, project attorney Stephanie Kiefer cautioned that this timeline “requires all of the pieces” to move quickly.
“Don’t take June to the bank,” Select Board Clerk Wendy Rovelli quipped to her colleagues.
Funding switch
Taurus pitched Novo under the state’s Chapter 40B housing law, which lets companies sidestep zoning in communities without enough units on Massachusetts’ Subsidized Housing Inventory.
Developers won Zoning Board of Appeals approval in 2024 but stayed mum on a timeline.
Taurus revealed an arrangement with a British investment firm in late February to pay for construction, and asked the Select Board for help switching to a 40B process called the Local Initiative Program. The swap would let Taurus accept the investor cash.
The board showed its support with a preliminary vote.
Among the perks for Acton is a promise that the Baker Avenue complex’s affordable units will stay affordable in perpetuity under the Local Initiative Program. The old process through the quasi-public MassHousing agency would force developers to seek funding through one of a few banks and guarantee units for only 30 years.
From proposal to (possible) groundbreaking
June 2023: Developers submit initial application to MassHousing through 40B housing law.
August 2023: MassHousing issues “suitability determination,” and Novo Riverside Commons builders seek town approval.
March 2024: After earlier concerns, officials discuss project changes with developer. Town architectural consultant lauds “significant improvements.”
April 2024: Zoning Board of Appeals approves Novo project.
June 2026: Project developers hope to start construction.
‘It takes time’
Builders promised $100,000 to help reconfigure the nearby intersection of Baker Avenue and Main Street for increased traffic.
Last fall, West Acton residents pressed Justin Richardson, Acton’s then-assistant town engineer, during a meeting about the makeover.
The intersection changes would make Baker and Main “a little bit more efficient,” but,“essentially, we just kind of have to deal with” added traffic, he said.
The broader residential construction industry has been facing fiscal uncertainty.
Acton’s Municipal Affordable Housing Trust has promised to pay just under $400,000 toward Novo’s sewer connection fee.
Speaking shortly before the Taurus team’s March 2 Select Board presentation, housing trust Chair Keith Bergman said the wait to get to a groundbreaking highlights the headwinds facing the construction of less expensive housing.
“Even when everyone wants the units to move forward,” he told The Acton Bridge, “it takes time.”
Demolition and grapes
Novo buildings will include one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. Affordable units will be restricted to people making less than 80% of the area median income. Current numbers place that cutoff at $132,300 for a family of four.
The Novo team must demolish some of the now-vacant Welch’s offices and add parking before starting on the new five- and six-story apartment buildings, Town Planner Elizabeth Hughes told The Bridge.
Crews will pave over what’s now a vineyard grown from cuttings of Ephraim Wales Bull’s original Acton grape vine. Bull pioneered the Acton grape.
Officials asked for the public’s help last fall in finding new homes for the grapes. As winter turns to spring, Hughes said she would soon reach out to people who already got in touch with her. “The goal is to save and relocate as much of [the vineyard] as possible,” she said.
A Taurus spokesperson didn’t share an updated demolition timeline in response to a Bridge question, but confirmed that June is the team’s “anticipated target for construction.”
