Plans for a proposed 285-unit residential development in Manchester’s Limited Commercial District (LCD) were shared with the Manchester Select Board at its meeting early this week.
Details about the proposed project were made by Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG), a developer working with Gordon College, which owns at least 127 acres of wooded land in the LCD. JAG co-president and COO Greg Lamb said the plan is to build a new set of luxury multi-family rental apartments within a 20-acre portion of forested area along Pine St. directly across the street from Black Earth Compost.
Monday’s presentation was the first step by JAG to informally share its general approach for the development. Later this year, JAG will seek formal application approvals from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals.
The project is likely to be a “40B” development, in which the state allows developers working in communities with less than 10 percent of affordable housing to bypass localized bylaws in favor of state regulations governing environmental protections and rules governing density. As of September 2025, 5.04% (or 166 of 2,293 units) of Manchester’s total housing units met state-qualified affordable housing units, which makes the town open to 40B developments.
The project has gone through several iterations before it settled on a final draft of the plan, said Lauren Jezienicki, a principal One Circle Co., the Boston area a multifamily development company that has been hired by JAG to work on this project.
The residential complex would be split between two buildings, with 285 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Shared between the buildings would be a variety of amenities, from a pool to shared communal spaces both indoors and outdoors.
“Our plan is to work with the natural advantages of the landscape,” said Lamb.
The target market for the development seems to be for older-adults, whether they are snow-birders or empty nesters, to have a “nature-inspired” lifestyle.
The Select Board’s John Round added that the hope is the development will attract a younger population.
“We need more students and young people in this town, and my hope is this project will give some much-needed space for folks to set their roots,” he said.
The Gordon College woods comprise a large stretch of rugged terrain with steep hills, wetlands, vernal pools, and the college's property abuts town-owned lands that surround Gravely Pond which provides more than 50% of Manchester’s drinking water.
For decades, conservationists in Manchester fought development of any kind. But about 18 months ago, Steve Gang of the Conservation Commission and Helen Bethell, former executive director at Manchester Essex Conservation Trust (MECT), approached Gordon with the idea of a “conservation for housing” swap. In exchange for permanently conserving large swaths of acreage around Graveley Pond, the town would be open to residential development.
Following this outreach, Gordon put the land under agreement with JAG, which began studying the land with its engineers and planners. Last August, both JAG and Gordon met with members of key municipal boards, including the Select Board, Conservation Commission, Planning Board, Open Space Committee, Affordable Housing Trust, and Zoning Board of Appeals.
On Monday, several representatives of boards and organizations were on hand for JAG’s presentation, including Planning Board Chair Sarah Creighton, Finance Committee member and MECT Vice President Mory Creighton, MECT Trustee George Davis, and Jessica Lamothe of the Manchester Stream Team.
If the project proceeds as a “friendly” 40B, JAG will seek a sewer allocation commitment for 285 units and a 40B letter of support which would allow the application to proceed. The company is also seeking town endorsement for a Mass Works/Housing Works grant application to fund the needed infrastucture expansion.
In exchange, JAG would donate money and resources and financing support for Manchester Affordable Housing Trust, $100,000 for athletic fields, trail improvements to the Western Woods, road improvements on Pine Street, and upgrades to the entrance of the Black Earth Compost facility. In its presentation to the Select Board, JAG did not address whether Gordon College would permanently conserve any of its land as part of the project.
Some expressed concern about the scale of the project, as the development would increase the housing density in Manchester by 10 percent.
“I just wonder about the potential stress that additional households will have on our town utilities,” said Select Board member Cathy Bilotta.
JAG’s Boston office has completed several projects in other Massachusetts cities including Boston, Malden, and Woburn. Manchester, said Lamb, is one of the smaller communities in the Commonwealth his company has worked in, but the number of units is comparable to its other projects.
Expanding development in the LCD fits with Manchester’s Master Plan, finalized in 2019, which states, “several million dollars a year in new Town revenues could be possible from development in the Limited Commercial District and Downtown. Opportunity exists in the LCD for expanded commercial and new residential development to meet community needs.”
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