Affordable Housing Proposal For Waltham's Armory Gets Put On Ice

WALTHAM, MA — The Waltham mayor said there's more work to be done on a popular proposal to turn the vacant Waltham Armory into affordable housing before she can approve it.

"The applicant has not provided the city with an as-is appraisal," Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said Monday night in a committee of the whole meeting. "I indicated early on in this process, that we need an 'as of right' appraisal, I told them in November.... I did not get that response."

McCarthy said several times she was in favor of converting the armory into affordable housing, but that because the application did not comply with the Community Preservation Commission's own rules, she would not be able to sign it, even though the commission recommended the proposal.

"There's no way I can sign [this] agreement because it doesn't comply with the rules of the CPC or state law," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said the two sticking points were that Community Preservation Commission rules indicate that project applicants must establish proof of control of the property through a purchase and sale agreement or otherwise; and proper appraisal.

MetroWest CD, the applicant, did get an appraisal, but the mayor said that appraisal does not count because it was not a "by right" appraisal, or an appraisal that assumes the property will be used for whatever it is currently zoned for.

Councilor Carlos Vidal said he'd never seen a proposal that the commission recommended get sent back to the commission.

"What I'm trying to do is get it right," McCarthy said.

After a long back and forth, many questions to the mayor and the law department, the committee of the whole voted to send the proposal back to the commission to revise. It can come back to the full council next Monday for a vote.

"It is unfortunate the mayor has injected herself into the workings of the CPC and Council," Rep. Tom Stanley who is also a city councilor, said in an email to Patch. "Hopefully, the project can accommodate the mayor’s process demand’s. It is too important to miss this opportunity to create permanent affordable housing."

Stanley had expressed concern that slowing the process might crush the project.

"We're looking at ways to modify the proposal to move forward," said Daria Gere of WATCH CDC, which is working with Metrowest on the proposal.

>> Read more: Group Asks City To Convert Waltham Armory Into Affordable Housing

Gere told Patch she's optimistic that it's possible.

"There's incredible momentum for this project within the community and on the council I think most people want to see this go forward. And so I think we'll find a solution to make it work," she said.

From her organization's perspective it's a win-win for the community in terms of preserving a historic building and providing 23 permanent affordable housing units, she said.

"The fact that we can provide these at 60 and 70 percent of area median income, is unusual because most apartments that are considered affordable are at 80 percent AMI," she said. "This is really a unique project in that respect.

City councilor Cathyann Harris said the council wanted to support the project.

"We want to all support this, but there's more to be done," she said. "Sometimes we have to take a small step back in order to take a big step forward, and this is an important step. We need to follow process."

Patch reached out to the mayor for clarification on the sticking points. A representative for the mayor said the city was working on it. Justin Barrett of the commission did not immediately respond to request for comment from Patch.

Also: Waltham Police Officer Falls Through Armory Floor During Chase...

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.