November 4, 2019 By Carol Britton Meyer
The four-story, 220-unit Broadstone Bare Cove rental housing development at 230 Beal St. adjacent to Lynch Field and across from Lincoln Plaza is progressing.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding with the town, the developer — Alliance Residential Company — is required to transfer the back portion of the property to the town to be added to Bare Cove Park prior to obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
“They are close to obtaining the initial occupancy certificates and would like to get the transfer completed,” Town Real Estate Counsel Susan Murphy told the Selectmen.
A portion of the property will feature a boardwalk that crosses through the wooded area that is being transferred to the town. The board voted to accept and execute the deed for the property this week.
The project is being developed under a comprehensive permit on the 12-acre former Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Company property.
There's an affordable housing component -- 55 units in this case. All of them will count toward the required 10 percent affordable housing threshold mandated by the state because apartments are in such short supply and in such high demand.
Power noted that upon completion of Broadstone, the town will have exceeded that threshold, meaning the town will have more control over whether or not to permit future comprehensive permit proposals.
The development agreement with the Selectmen includes funding from the developer of $1.08 million over time in part for new windows at Plymouth River School, Bare Cove Park upkeep, and for the Hingham Police Department to purchase digital sign trailers in addition to $150,000-worth of new sidewalks and 18 additional parking spaces along Lynch Field. A representative from Alliance presented a check for $500,000 as partial payment at Monday's meeting.
Selectman Mary Power acknowledged at a recent Selectmen's meeting that former Selectmen Paul Healey and Paul Gannon helped get the proposal off the ground when they served on the board.