Mrs. Eileen B. Sullivan, the local correspondent, reported on major civic developments regarding two new proposals by the Norwood Housing Authority. The projects, which have been approved by the state Department of Community Affairs, will introduce 80 units of housing for the elderly alongside 20 units of low-income housing designed for large families. Lawrence J. O’Brien, the executive director of the housing authority, stated yesterday that progress on these local housing initiatives remains entirely dependent on Norwood’s specific share of Commonwealth-guaranteed bonds that were recently passed by the state legislature. The state assembly recently approved a $50 million bond issue dedicated to housing for the elderly as well as a $37 million funding measure under Chapter 705 earmarked for low-income housing.
The final passage of these critical spending bills, which currently await the governor’s signature, ultimately arrived three months later than local planners had originally expected. Because of this legislative delay, Mr. O’Brien noted that the anticipated timeline for receiving competitive bids on the elderly housing project has been forced back from July to September. The housing authority previously secured necessary town meeting approval for 80 additional units of senior housing back in November. Following that authorization, the agency successfully secured a vital three-acre zoning change from a general residential zone to a multi-family zoning change during a town meeting in February, clearing the path for construction at its existing Nahatan Street project.
When the original senior citizen housing development was first constructed at the Nahatan Street site, apartments were legally permitted within what was then a general residence zone. However, the town’s local zoning bylaws were subsequently altered after the initial build, a regulatory shift that ultimately necessitated the corrective town meeting action earlier this year. The 80 new one-bedroom units, which carry an estimated construction cost of $200,000, are currently scheduled to reach completion in the fall of 1971. Mr. O’Brien underscored the pressing local demand for these spaces, adding that the authority has already received 188 active applications for the upcoming senior accommodations. Once completed, these 80 new spaces will bring Norwood’s total baseline of elderly housing dwellings up to 238 individual units spread across three dedicated municipal projects located on Nahatan Street, Adams Street, and Hill Street.
Regarding the authority’s second concurrent proposal, Mr. O’Brien reported that state officials from the Department of Community Affairs are scheduled to arrive in Norwood this coming Wednesday to physically examine and appraise four tentative local sites under consideration. The municipal body will eventually select just one of these four analyzed parcels for the final development of the 20 units intended for large families. The housing authority previously attempted to secure an alternative “scattered site” housing arrangement—which maintains a strict 20-unit limit for any single location—on a 2.34-acre plot of town-owned property situated directly across from the Oldham School on Prospect Street.
However, that initial effort faced a dead end when the Selectmen sought separate May town meeting approval to sell that specific lot to former Selectman Walter J. Dempsey for a minimum price of $30,000. The parcel carried historical industrial baggage, as the town had actively crushed stone on the lot from 1914 to 1927. While town meeting members ultimately turned down the selectmen’s industrial land sale bid, the housing authority had already abandoned its original plans for the site prior to the vote. Following the upcoming state appraisals of the four new potential parcels, the state agency will formally select one for development.
Commenting on the architectural and structural vision for the family units, Mr. O’Brien noted that exact layout plans remain fluid. “We don’t know the design as yet we have been talking about duplex or condominium,” he said. The upcoming family complex will mark a cautious entry into this style of local development. “We’re starting off small because we don’t know how it’s going to work,” remarked Mr. O’Brien, adding that the final designs would consist of two-story housing units featuring spacious four- and five-bedroom configurations. The housing authority’s designated architect for both of the upcoming town projects is Nelson Jacobs Associates of Boston.
The Patriot Ledger, May 29, 1970
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