Throughout recent months, public discourse surrounding the Smart Growth overlay district designated for Central Avenue has concentrated largely on the zoning ordinance’s technical elements.
The City Council’s unanimous approval of Smart Growth zoning on Monday evening, however, shifted the conversation toward community and human advantages. This decision enables the Innes Development project to advance significantly toward realization.
Cheers and applause erupted when the final vote was announced, coming from Innes residents, members of the project development team, and City Planning and Development Director John DePriest.
Ronnie Slamin, project director for Corcoran—the developer overseeing the Innes Street/Central Avenue housing redevelopment—remarked that “This will allow for new homes that all the
residents of Chelsea can be proud to call their own,”
The special zoning designation permits the mixed-income project to operate under its own regulations governing parking, density, and other specifications. Additionally, it secures $5 million in state and local funding.
Corcoran Development will build a 330-unit community replacing the current housing development. The project will retain the existing 96 public housing units while adding 40 workforce housing units and 194 market-rate units. State and federal grants will help subsidize the replacement of public housing units.
The development achieves a 41 percent affordable ratio—triple the City’s typical requirement and double the state’s mandate.
For current Innes residents and Chelsea Housing Authority members, this represents a critical opportunity to modernize aging, deteriorated units.
Melissa Booth, co-president of the Innes Residents Association, stated that “It is our dream to live in new apartments
that are safe and decent for our children, elderly, and the disabled,”
The Smart Growth overlay district encompasses the current Innes Development footprint and prioritizes affordable housing and public transportation accessibility.
Bertram Taverna, Chelsea Housing Authority board member, characterized the Innes redevelopment as an unprecedented opportunity for the City in decades.
Taverna explained, “We are talking about an opportunity for
these 96 families, as well as 40 more affordable housing units,” “Everybody is invested in this project and wholeheartedly all in.”
Al Ewing, CHA Executive Director, noted that the redevelopment will fulfill the city’s commitment to providing residents with homes they can take pride in while raising families.
District 8 Councillor Calvin T. Brown commented that “This is a win for the City of Chelsea,” “Folks are going to see that
Chelsea can do this and other cities are going to do this.”
Council President Damali Vidot acknowledged the lengthy journey toward this approval. The Council had previously rejected a proposal three years ago due to absent prevailing wage protections.
Now that prevailing wages are incorporated into the development proposal, parking emerged as the primary concern during recent discussions.
Approval of the Smart Growth zoning represents a significant milestone, though developers must still secure Council approval for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) tax break. This vote is anticipated for later this spring.
Vidot indicated that parking considerations will be addressed during the TIF review.
Corcoran’s proposal includes 226 on-site parking spaces, with an option to lease an additional 50 nearby.