Architect’s drawing of the proposed hospice building and parking (click to enlarge).
By Alice Waugh
Faced with negative reactions from the Zoning Board of Appeals and residents, Care Dimensions plans to rework its proposal for a hospice facility on Winter Street.
The Danvers-based nonprofit presented plans at the ZBA meeting on March 6 for an inpatient 20-bed hospice facility that would include a 42,000-square-foot building and parking for 87 cars.
The ZBA was “resistant to what was proposed” in terms of the plan’s size and overall impact, said Director of Planning and Land Use Chris Reilly. Board members expressed concern with the project’s scale, setbacks, and the proximity of parking to abutting property owners. “They basically said they will not approve this unless [Care Dimensions] reduces the scale dramatically,” Reilly said.
The Care Dimensions team will “assimilate the feedback from the meeting and see what kind of modifications can be made to our project, but they’re definitely looking at next steps and moving forward,” said Jean Graham, the company’s senior director of marketing.
Care Dimensions will work to “reduce the footprint and take into consideration some of the concerns of the neighbors,” said Bill Jackson of William Jackson Associates, Inc. of Concord, a project team consultant for the company.
After the March 6 meeting, Care Dimensions postponed a planned preliminary meeting with the Planning Board. The company needs site plan approval from that group as well as a special permit from the ZBA to proceed.
The ZBA’s next scheduled meeting is Thursday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Donaldson Room in the Town Office Building.
I, too, was present and spoke at the ZBA meeting.
As Chris Reilly was quoted to have said, the ZBA more or less opined that the scale would have to be reduced dramatically; the ZBA said nothing to suggest to Care Dimension nor to the rest of us present that its proposal, even if dramatically scaled back, would necessarily thus meet with approval. On the contrary, all concluding summary comments of the ZBA toward Care Dimension were decidedly discouraging.
Further, Care Dimension itself has said more than once that were the scale dramatically cut back, what would remain would not be financially feasible for them, which is understandable since scale in business can be critical in terms of viability.
OK, then . . . . Care Dimension’s recent proposal was of scale that the ZBA said would (at a minimum) have to be dramatically reduced, yet Care Dimension has declared that dramatically reduced scale would not be financially viable for it. Well, then, this proposal should thus be over and done with!
How soon will the property be listed for sale?
I, too, was present and spoke at the ZBA meeting.
As Chris Reilly was quoted to have said, the ZBA more or less opined that the scale would have to be reduced dramatically; the ZBA said nothing to suggest to Care Dimension or the rest of us presnet that its proposal, even if dramatically scaled back, would necessarily thus meet with approval. On the contrary, all concluding summary comments of the ZBA toward Care Dimension were decidedly discouraging.
Further, Care Dimension itself has said more than once that were the scale dramatically cut back, what would remain would not be financially feasible for them, which is understandable since scale in business can be critical in terms of viability.
OK, then . . . . Care Dimension’s recent proposal was of scale that the ZBA said would (at a minimum) have to be dramatically reduced, yet Care Dimension has declared that dramatically reduced scale would not be financially viable for it. Well, then, this proposal should thus be over and done with!
How soon will the property be listed for sale?