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Select Board approves $7.5 million pledge, fee waivers to jump‑start Walnut High redevelopment
Summary
The Select Board voted to commit $7.5 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to phase one of the Walnut High Apartments redevelopment, to amend the project’s PILOT agreement to reflect proposed unit counts, and to waive many building‑permit and demolition review fees, subject to conditions including planning approvals and a recorded affordability restriction.
The Select Board voted unanimously on Oct. 15 to commit $7.5 million from the Town of Brookline’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to phase one of the Brookline Housing Authority’s Walnut High Apartments redevelopment and to approve two companion measures advancing the project’s financing and permitting.
Under the conditional commitment, phase one would include 96 affordable units. The vote also amended the existing payment‑in‑lieu‑of‑taxes (PILOT) agreement to reflect the proposed unit counts for phases one (96 units) and two (85 units) and waived building permit fees — including demolition, preservation commission, erosion control, tree‑preservation and construction‑management plan review fees — for both phases. The board read modified language into the public record clarifying conditions for the commitment: the Brookline Housing Authority (BHA) must secure all necessary planning board and Board of Appeals approvals, secure non‑town financing, assign a $3.75 million Community Preservation Act grant to the AHT, and record a perpetual affordability restriction acceptable to the state executive office of housing and livable communities.
Select Board members framed the votes as a pivotal moment for Brookline’s public housing stock. One member described the package as “an incredibly exciting new era” for the housing authority’s properties, saying the redevelopment will modernize buildings originally constructed in 1962 and expand affordable‑housing opportunities in Brookline Village.
The votes were taken by oral roll call; members recorded affirmative votes for all three items. The conditional commitment is set to expire after two years unless mutually extended; the final loan terms and closing will be negotiated between the BHA and the Town. The board noted the commitment does not prevent the BHA from seeking additional local funding sources, including future Affordable Housing Trust or CPA allocations.
Next steps: the BHA must complete planning approvals and secure construction financing before the town’s financing commitment converts from conditional to final.
