Charles River Center presents plan for 86 affordable units at 59 East Militia Heights; board requests more detail on trees, lighting

Charles River Center and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs presented a proposal on Nov. 3 for 86 units of 100% affordable housing at 59 East Militia Heights, describing a four-building layout that would include studio, one‑ and two‑bedroom units, community space and program set‑asides for Charles River Center clients.

Phil Cream, project manager with the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, said Charles River Center acquired the former Army housing site in October 2023 and seeks to create an inclusive campus that combines housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with affordable and workforce units for other households and for some Charles River Center staff. Cream said the project is proposed as 100% affordable housing, with units affordable to households earning between roughly 30% and 80% of area median income (applicant supplied illustrative income bands), and that about half of the units would be set aside for Charles River Center program clients, many referred through DDS; five units would be set aside as workforce housing for staff.

Architect Jay Simanski described a site plan with three small single‑story residential buildings and one three‑story building with about a 4,000‑square‑foot community room. The team said the design seeks to conserve perimeter trees and keep the development compact, but that the current plan identifies removal of approximately 15 trees within the previous development footprint and protection of several larger perimeter trees. Landscape architect Rebecca Bauschon said the team surveyed about 268 perimeter trees and will refine a planting palette focused on native, drought‑tolerant species; the team presented a photometric plan using full‑cutoff, dark‑sky‑compliant fixtures and said they will coordinate decorative fixtures at building entrances.

Board members praised the project’s program and materials choices while asking for additional detail on several technical points: grading and retaining-wall design behind the rear parking (board members noted a 6–8 foot change in elevation in places), the precise location and screening of rooftop mechanical equipment, a cross‑section showing existing trees versus proposed pole heights to assess light spill onto North Hill/McIntosh Avenue below, and whether additional plantings or lower-scale fixtures could reduce nighttime light visibility from adjoining streets. The project team said a comprehensive permit application has been filed and that the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold the first hearing on Nov. 20; the team said construction would not begin until approvals and funding (including LIHTC) are secured, likely no earlier than 2027.

No formal vote was taken by the Design Review Board; staff will forward board comments to the Zoning Board of Appeals as part of the record.