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Falmouth Select Board rescinds $3.4M award for Bushwood 545 amid seller dispute
Summary
After extensive public comment and board debate, the Select Board voted June 8 to rescind a $3.4 million affordable‑housing award to Bushwood 545 LLC, citing communications from the property owner that left little prospect of the project proceeding as agreed. Supporters urged more time; the developer called the decision premature.
The Falmouth Select Board voted to rescind a $3.4 million financial award from the town's Affordable Housing Fund to Bushwood 545 LLC after receiving repeated communications from the seller that, according to multiple board members, left little path for the purchase and proposed project to proceed under the terms the town had supported.
Board members said the award had been encumbered for a project the board repeatedly endorsed as meeting local workforce housing priorities, but that recent written statements from the seller made the project's viability questionable. "We have assured —amily names as written— that there are no circumstances … in which we will consider any relationship in which [the buyer] is involved," Select Board member Miss Klein read aloud from a seller's letter. That communication and others prompted trustees to move to rescind the housing fund award.
Michael Glassel, the managing member of Bushwood 545 LLC, told the board that developers have invested substantial time and private money to advance the project and pleaded for more time to resolve outstanding obstacles. "We're being bullied," he said, arguing the community-backed plan deserved further negotiation.
Board members acknowledged the project had broad public support and the decision was difficult. Several members said the town cannot tie up the affordable housing fund indefinitely when there is little evidence the purchase will close on the previously agreed terms. Select Board members noted the fund's limited balance and the need to free up resources for other potential projects.
After a motion and second, the board voted to rescind the award. The rescission returns funds to the Affordable Housing Fund for potential reallocation; the action does not prevent the developer or other parties from continuing private negotiations outside the fund process.
What happens next: The town has returned the funds to the Affordable Housing Fund; trustees and staff said they would consider other proposals for that money and recommended Falmouth Housing Corporation or other developers who can demonstrate a clear path forward for a new award. Supporters of the Bushwood plan urged the town to consider a narrowly tailored extension or direct negotiation if evidence of a viable closing is produced.
