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Mento family proposes 10 townhomes at 1157 Washington Street; board asks for stormwater and conservation reviews
Summary
Attorney Frank Marinelli presented plans to replace a long‑running contractor yard at 1157 Washington Street with 10 two‑bedroom townhomes; the proposal reduces impervious area by about 54% and increases open space to roughly 73.6%. The board agreed to a continuance to Aug. 18 to allow staff, DPW and conservation to review stormwater and draft conditions.
Attorney Frank Marinelli told the Braintree Planning Board on July 14 that the Mento family plans to redevelop 1157 Washington Street — a long‑running contractors’ yard — into 10 two‑bedroom condominium townhouses.
Marinelli said the plan removes roughly 54% of existing impervious surface, reducing paved area from about 42,244 square feet to about 19,628 square feet and creating roughly 73.6% open space on the 74,300‑square‑foot site. He said no zoning variances are required under the town bylaws and that the family intends to sell units to third parties after construction.
“About 54% of the impervious surface that’s out there right now will be removed,” Frank Marinelli said, adding the contractor’s yard and material bins would be removed and operations moved to a Holbrook property owned by the family.
Why it matters: the site lies in the Floodplain Protection District and contains areas in the mapped floodway; converting industrial use to residential and removing infrastructure from the regulatory floodway could reduce localized flood hazards and change runoff characteristics, but it requires multiple technical reviews before the board can act.
Engineer Sean Hardy of Hardy Amman Design Group told the board the design keeps residential buildings out of the floodway, increases infiltration and restores a 25‑foot buffer with wetland plantings. “By removing all that pavement, we’re making it that much better,” he said, describing recharge and a planting plan with more than 100 wetland‑appropriate species.
Staff and board members raised three central concerns: peer review of stormwater calculations, conservation commission permitting for work within the river buffer and final architectural elevations and color schemes. Board members praised the project’s scale and the applicants’ neighborhood outreach but requested more detail on final materials and draft decision conditions.
Member comments and outcome: board members asked about building height (engineers said peaks are near 40 feet but within the zoning definition of height), parking (two garage spaces per unit plus 14 guest spaces, for a total of 34 spaces) and whether units would be owner‑occupied. Marinelli said the units are intended for sale, not long‑term ownership by the family. The board voted to continue the public hearing to August 18, 2026, to allow DPW, conservation and a potential peer review to be completed and to let staff prepare draft conditions.
Next steps: the applicant will supply revised plans, and staff will coordinate DPW and conservation reviews and obtain a stormwater peer‑review estimate; the board expects to consider draft conditions at the August 18 meeting.
