Published in the February 15, 2021 edition.

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — The blighted former Taylor Rental property at 610 Salem St. in Montrose is in line for a facelift, as Paul Caggiano’s proposal to build a 30-unit, mid-rise condominium project on the site was given the green light by the Zoning Board of Appeals last week.

After nearly five months of hearings, the ZBA granted the requested Special Permits and made the necessary findings that will allow the project to move forward.

At last week’s meeting, attorney Brian McGrail updated the board on a number of items that the ZBA wanted wrapped up from previous hearings.

McGrail said that town’s Engineer Department had provided a memorandum with a list of requirements for the project. McGrail said that he had met with Town Engineer Bill Renault and all of those items were incorporated into the project plans.

John Ogren of Hayes Engineering added that a fire hydrant would be placed in front of the proposed building along with a handicapped ramp on the Salem Street facing side.

McGrail confirmed that the plans include saving several existing trees just to the west of the property. He said that landscape architect James Emmanuel would be brought in to ensure that the trees are protected during construction.

Emmanuel had also made revisions to the landscape plan for the property to make it consistent with the site plan and added landscaping in the area of the electrical transformer, McGrail noted. Bollard lights were also added in the parking lot, according to the plans.

At the request of the board, larger, more mature trees will be planted than the ones proposed on the original plans, McGrail said.

McGrail said that architect Peter Sandorse and ZBA member Jim McBain had met several times to iron out some remaining concerns. Sandorse reviewed those changes and showed final renderings and drawings. He also displayed images showing the types of brick, Hardy plank, siding and screening for the garage windows that will be used.

Motion activated lighting will be used in the ground-level garage in order to avoid excess light spillage from the windows.

McBain said that he was satisfied with the latest changes and detail provided on the drawings.

McGrail provided a detailed operations and maintenance plan as well as a proposed construction schedule. The schedule showed construction beginning in March 2021 and a project completion date of May 2022.

McGrail and the board also reviewed a list of 15 conditions for the project.

When the hearing was opened to public, the only person who spoke was Bronwyn Della-Volpe of Cyrus Street. He main concern was light pollution and spillage from the outdoor fixtures. She also asked about the number of affordable units.

The ZBA granted three Special Permits that will allow the project to be constructed.

The first Special Permit allows the requested use as a 30-unit mid-rise condominium building. The second allows alteration of dimensional requirements by reducing the front, side and rear setbacks. The third Special Permit pertained to allowing parking closer than 7.5 feet from the building.

The board also made a series of findings related to each of the Special Permits. The votes on all relief granted were unanimous.