Seventeen Housing Units Planned For Old YMCA

The Planning Commission will begin Tuesday considering a proposal for 17 new residences that would be built on the site of the old YMCA building on Pleasant Street. The commission has scheduled a public hearing on the plans for the Pleasant Street Condominiums at 7:30 p.m. in the Abbot Hall auditorium.

ICE-CAT of Swampscott has proposed to demolish the old Marblehead-Swampscott YMCA building at 94 Pleasant St., and build a three-story brick building that will have 17 residential units, an indoor swimming pool, a children's play area and 27 parking spaces. The site, which is only 15,000 square feet, is adjacent to Veterans' Memorial Park where Pleasant and Essex streets intersect.

The building is part of a new Smart Growth District that was created by the town "To ensure that Development Projects shall be of high quality and shall meet the standards envisioned by the Town of Marblehead," according to a town document outlining the purpose of the Smart District.

Because the site is governed by the Smart Growth District guidelines, it must make 20 percent of the residences affordable for buyers who earn less than $66,000 annually, which is 80 percent of the area median income. Of the 17 residences, two would have to be priced for buyers who meet the criteria. The state will pay the town a small fee for the two residences to cover additional costs, primarily for schools. 

Paul Lynch, attorney for the project, said it was not decided yet if the residences would be sold or leased.

The site of the old YMCA building is small, according to the town document, "but it is a site that has a great deal of visual prominence in downtown Marblehead due to its location adjacent to the Veterans' Memorial Park."

The design and construction of the building and the site are subject to about 80 different rules that regulate almost every aspect of the design from the materials used in the building to the width of the sidewalk.

The building must also be built to high environmental standards. The rules require that it be certified at the "Silver" level of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The residences will range in size from 900 square feet to the largest unit with 2,144 square feet, according to the plans submitted to the commission. There will be six units on both the second and third floors and five units, including the largest units, on the fourth or roof floor. Space for 27 vehicles will be on ground floor.

The commission may take issue with the number of parking spaces on the site. The rules require 34 spaces or two per unit. At 27 spaces, there will be about 1.25 spaces per unit.

The commission may also question whether it will insist on having retail space in the building, which is required by the Smart Growth District bylaws. The commission may grant a waiver on the retail space issue.

The regulations also require that the developer conduct a shadow study to determine if the 33,300 square-foot building, which is several feet higher than the current building, will cast a shadow that would be detrimental to the plants in Veterans' Memorial Park.

The YMCA sold the building to George Wattendorf of GVW, Inc., construction company for a reported $1.35 million.