40-Unit Development At Melrose VFW Moves Forward

MELROSE, MA — A 40-unit, mixed-use development is moving forward around Melrose’s existing VFW Post on Chipman Avenue following a vote by the Planning Board on Monday night.

The VFW Post sits at 14 Chipman Ave. It has been eyed by Waypoint Development, which filed an application for a site plan review with the city back in April.

Project plans will preserve the VFW space in the lower level of the building while reserving six units as affordable housing. The overall footprint and height of the building will expand compared to the existing VFW building, creating a four story, 52,372-square-foot structure with ground-floor retail space.

An initial project description said developers would build “upward and outward” from the VFW space to build one and two-bedroom units. While technically proposing a four story building, developers noted that an elevation change on the 14 Chipman Ave. site would result in a nearly five story structure when viewed from nearby Marvin Road.

Building plans additionally call for an underground parking garage as part of this project. That garage, in combination with an expanded existing lot would increase overall parking on the site to 38 spaces. Of those, nine would be reserved for VFW parking, according to project documents.

The development, which sits steps from the Melrose Highlands Commuter Rail stop, will also have an indoor bike rack.

“The transit-oriented nature of the project site will allow residents to choose to forego auto ownership and to rely on public transportation for many of their daily trips,” a traffic study commissioned for the project noted.

In all, that traffic study said the project would generate 22 new vehicle trips at its peak morning hour. There would be 27 new trips at the peak evening hour. This, the study said, would not adversely impact nearby intersections.

Melrose is additionally set to receive close to $45,000 in payments from the developer to the city’s Streetscape Improvement Fund.

Back before the Planning Board this week, developers and others working on this project recapped plans and highlighted recent changes following previous community feedback. Changes included new landscaping plans and modifications to improve building accessibility.

Though approved, the 14 Chipman Ave. project may still end up back before the Planning Board in the future, according to Attorney Dave Lucas, who is representing Waypoint.

Lucas noted that the developers remain uncertain about the future of the building's retail space, which would likely be too small to house a restaurant. Lucas said that Waypoint, which also owns property on Newbury Street in Boston, may work with an existing tenant in its Boston facility to open a salon-style location within the new Chipman Avenue building in Melrose.

If that were to happen, Lucas said, developers would come back to the Planning Board for approval to eliminate two planned residential units and extend retail space onto a second floor.