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Select Board backs Roger Communities’ large senior-housing redevelopment and local-initiative application
Summary
Roger Communities proposed a phased senior living redevelopment on roughly 92 acres; the Norton Select Board voted to authorize a letter of support for the project’s Local Initiative Program (LIP) application after hearing details about unit mix, conservation land and affordability commitments.
Roger Communities’ plan to redevelop the Daget Crannle campus on Newland Street won the Select Board’s formal backing on Thursday as the developer seeks support for a Local Initiative Program application under state affordable-housing rules.
The company’s director of real estate development, Jeremy Vie, told the board the multi‑phase proposal centers on a new main building — roughly 150 units total — combining 24 supportive living units, 24 memory-care units and about 103 independent‑living apartments, plus 100 one‑story cottages developed in later phases. Vie said the site is about 92 acres and that the applicant intends to place roughly 55 acres under a conservation restriction. About 25% of rental units are proposed as income‑restricted (anticipated at 80% area median income), and the developers estimate roughly 128 units would count on Norton’s subsidized‑housing inventory (the state’s SHI) once built.
"This is not a new use for the property — it's the next chapter of a long‑standing community asset," Vie said, describing the project as a continuum‑of‑care campus that aims to help older adults remain in town as needs change.
Local counsel Jack Jacobe and attorney Carla Chaffy, representing the applicant, described the LIP/40B pathway the town must approve to allow the consolidated buildings and higher density. They said the LIP process requires demonstration of community support and state oversight of affordability restrictions. Chaffy noted Norton may be able to secure a higher locality preference for some units but cautioned the final percentage of units set aside for Norton residents will be negotiated with the state and often ranges from 10% to 20%.
Board members pressed the team on unit mix, market demand for expanded memory‑care, infrastructure needs and environmental constraints. Vie and his team said the plan positions development toward Newland Street and away from protected habitat and wetlands, and that state environmental agencies have already guided the layout around rare‑species habitat. The applicant indicated the project would be phased and built incrementally, with rental units likely delivered earliest.
Select Board member Bob Kimble asked about municipal impacts; the applicant said the project is expected to add tax revenue and to meet Norton’s affordable‑housing targets without imposing additional school‑capacity burdens because the project is age‑restricted (62+). Developers estimated that if the site reached a roughly $200 million assessed value at full buildout, Norton could see about $2.6 million in annual tax revenue at current rates (preliminary estimate).
After public questions and technical discussion about conservation restrictions, wells and traffic, the board voted to authorize the town manager to send a letter of support for the LIP application and to continue working on formal language for the record.
The vote does not approve construction; it is an early, advisory step to include Norton’s support in the state application required for a "friendly" 40B/LIP pathway. The developer stressed that the next steps include state review, conservation commission review and detailed traffic and environmental permitting before any construction could begin.
