Lowell planning board approves Willey Street mill conversion with parking, landscaping conditions

The Lowell Planning Board on June 15 unanimously approved a special permit and site plan for 71 Willey Street, allowing the adaptive reuse of a former mill building into 30 residential units with conditions meant to manage parking, landscaping and stormwater.

Attorney John Geary, representing Willey Street LLC, told the board the project would convert the three-story stone mill into 15 studio units and 15 one-bedroom units and that the development “adds 30 market rate energy efficient residential units to the city's housing stock,” while rehabilitating an underused historic property. Geary also said the project received required historic-board approvals and zoning relief from the Zoning Board of Appeals for off-street parking.

Transportation engineer Jeffrey Dirk described the project's transportation demand management (TDM) plan, saying it has three parts: an on-site transportation manager, promotional incentives and a monitoring program. “We provide a transit pass for one month for anyone who signs a 12-month lease” as an incentive, Dirk said, and the plan calls for monitoring at about 90% occupancy and again one year later to verify parking demand and TDM effectiveness.

Board members pressed for concrete requirements. One member said the project must ensure assigned parking so residents are not left without spaces; John Geary and project team members agreed. The board attached conditions to the approvals that require each unit be assigned a minimum of one parking space; that the dumpster enclosure incorporate materials complementary to the building facade with stone posts; that excess snow be removed from site when it cannot be stored on-site; that an exterior bike rack providing 15 bicycle spaces be installed at the rear of the property; and that the applicant comply with engineering comments and obtain required stormwater permits from the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility.

Engineer Mark O'Hara and the applicant responded to questions about stormwater, utilities and landscaping, saying the plans include infiltration areas and leaching manholes sized to manage the required 1-inch retention. Board members asked the applicant to finalize a landscaping plan for a proposed retaining wall and the area between the parking lot and the building; the applicant agreed to return landscaping details to staff for final review.

The board recorded the special-permit vote as 5–0 in favor and then approved the site plan with the same conditions, also 5–0. The approvals were contingent on the applicant satisfying staff and engineering conditions before permits are issued.

The project team said they will implement the TDM monitoring and make adjustments if monitoring shows exceedances; the board made the TDM plan part of the permit conditions.