Wollaston Assets seeks 121 new units on Old Colony Avenue; residents cite flooding, parking and scale concerns

The Quincy Planning Board on March 19 opened and heard two linked site‑plan applications from Wollaston Assets LLC for properties on Old Colony Avenue in the Wallaston area. The applications are for (1) a 94‑unit market‑rate multifamily building at 1824 and 28 Old Colony Avenue with two levels of structured parking (97 spaces) and (2) a 27‑unit workforce/affordable building at 38 Old Colony Avenue with structured and exterior parking (18 spaces). The developer said the smaller building would be constructed first and offered to tenants of existing rental properties on the larger site to reduce displacement.

Attorney Edward Fleming introduced the applicants, managers David Lee and Cindy Xu, and said the sites sit in the Business C zoning district and within the Wallaston Revitalization District. Civil engineer Carlos Sculte (CEC) described grading, drainage and a stormwater approach that uses subsurface chambers sized to hold and treat runoff for frequent storms (up to the 2‑year event) and to provide controlled overflows for larger storms; he noted the Wollaston area has been the subject of a city inundation study and that regional solutions are underway but localized design measures are also being proposed. CEC said the larger site is transit‑oriented and is close to the Wollaston MBTA station and several bus stops.

Architect Brian Donahue presented the larger building as a U‑shaped five‑story (above podium parking) building with an internal courtyard and a mix of one‑ and two‑bedroom units; units were described as 600–1,000 square feet. The smaller, 27‑unit building was presented as a four‑story one‑bedroom building with nine enclosed spaces and nine surface spaces.

Public comment was substantial and highlighted three recurring issues: - Flooding/drainage: Multiple residents recounted historic flooding in the Furnace Brook / Cunningham Brook corridors and asked for rigorous floodproofing and verification that the proposed subsurface storage will not increase downstream flooding. The developer and engineer said they had performed borings, designed shallow subsurface chambers, and sized systems so that storms up to the 2‑year event would be detained and treated with controlled overflows for larger storms. - Traffic and parking: Residents and nearby business owners said Old Colony and the nearby intersections already experience congestion and that on‑street spillover parking would raise neighborhood impacts if the projects are approved with reduced parking ratios. Traffic studies for the two sites were performed together; the consultant reported modest peak‑hour trip increases (roughly 30 new trips for the larger building during peak hours and roughly 10 trips for the smaller building) and concluded the increases would not materially change intersection operations, but residents and Councilor James Devine pressed for further evaluation during school and commuter peaks and for traffic‑calming measures. - Scale and neighborhood fit: Several speakers said the buildings’ heights and massing would be out of character with adjacent single‑ and two‑family homes. Speakers urged the board to require additional setbacks, landscaping and material treatments to reduce the perceived scale.

Board action: the Planning Board voted to continue both hearings to May 21 to allow further peer review, departmental review and follow‑up on traffic and drainage concerns. The applicants and staff said they will return with responses to peer review and detailed stormwater analyses; the developer indicated intent to build the smaller affordable building first so existing tenants can be offered new units.