To the Editor,
As a downtown resident, I am writing in support of the planned conversion of the dilapidated storage facility at the corner of Tappan Street and Sea Street. I hope many of you will join me in supporting this cause.
The project is being undertaken by Todd Waller, who grew up here and cares deeply about our town. Todd is the epitome of a responsible real estate owner, and this is a very modest but amazingly well-designed project. It will create four (4) desperately needed units of loft-style residential housing with immediate access to the MBTA and downtown, and it will in every way enhance the neighborhood and the environment. The design completely reimagines and repurposes the current buildings with no change to their height or footprint. Large sections of the existing, cracked blacktop will be removed and replaced with a manicured landscape. The project has already been approved by the ConCom. To view plans and specifications, click here: www.thegranarymanchester.com.
Sadly, a small group of neighbors seeks to block this project and in doing so impede progress for our town. They are claiming that the ZBA's "hands are tied" no matter the merits of Todd's application, and this seems to have created unwarranted confusion where none should exist. The Board did not take public comment on the project at its meeting last month and said it would consult with town counsel prior to this month's meeting to clarify what it can and cannot do.
Everyone should be concerned they reach the right conclusion. It is important not just for this project but also for the advancement of a healthy, vibrant downtown, and most critically our community's ability to grow and change responsibly. Should the Board decide it has no authority to make things better at this site it would only reinforce the notion that our zoning is administered by the few and is inconsistent with local and regional needs for more diverse and affordable housing. That circumstance, and not the proposed project, would be the regrettable development here.
Adam Zaiger, Manchester
