Q&A

This page provides responses to questions that the Town anticipates residents may have regarding this project, or questions that have already been posed and answered in a public forum. The Town recognizes that there are many more questions that the public will have about this project. We will continue to update this page as those questions come in. Please visit the "contact" page, which lists a Town contact and a developer contact to whom you may direct questions.

Q: I am an abutter to this project. Why have I not received notice about public meetings?

A: Currently, the project is not seeking any permits that would trigger abutter notification. The proponent, Trinity Financial, presented project details to local boards and commissions over several months, in preparation for consideration of a new master planned mixed-use zoning overlay district, which requires approval at Town Meeting. If this proposed new zoning is approved by Town Meeting, the project proponent would then be required to come before the Planning Board and other applicable boards before moving forward with any portion of the phased development, to ensure compliance with the newly created zoning.

Q: Would this project increase the number of housing units at the Royal Crest property, and if so, by how much?

A: Yes. Royal Crest currently has 588 units of housing. Per the most recently presented program (January, 2022), Trinity Financial proposes to construct 1,058 new units of permanent housing, with an additional 206 units (824 beds) of student housing.

Q: How much traffic will the project generate and what is being done to plan for and mitigate any negative impacts?

The project proponent put forward a traffic study that was peer reviewed and agreed to by the Town's own consultant. The analysis finds that, depending on the day/time, the project will increase the number of trips generated in the area by between 2.6x and 6.1x. Despite this expected increase in vehicle trips, a "Level of Service Analysis" showed that level of service for the roadway (i.e. operating conditions of the roadway based on factors such as speed, travel time, maneuverability, delay, and safety) will stay the same or improve at 8 of the 10 studied intersections in the analysis. The analysis and peered reviewed information can be found by clicking here and scrolling down to "traffic and parking."

Separate from the Royal Crest project proposal, MassDOT will be implementing several improvements along a 2.2-mile stretch of Route 114, between Waverly Road and Willow Street/Mill Road. The project includes roadway widening, traffic signal improvements at intersections, and continuous sidewalks and bicycle accommodations that are separated from vehicular traffic (via a shared use path) along the full length of the Route 114 corridor. Additionally:

• Seven (7) existing traffic signals will be upgraded, and two (2) additional intersections will become signal controlled (intersections of Route 114 at Royal Crest Drive/ Merrimack College and Hillside Road) for a total of nine (9) signalized intersections

• Traffic signals will be interconnected and will utilize adaptive signal control which automatically adjusts signal operations to optimize traffic flow based on ‘real time’ vehicle demand data collected by the system

• The project also includes a culvert replacement, drainage improvements, utility relocations and landscaping elements

• While MassDOT and the Developer have communicated, these projects are independent

Q: I am concerned about the proposed density of this project. How does it compare to other projects in town?

A: The project proponents prepared a density analysis that shows the proposed redevelopment of Royal Crest having 17 units per acre. In contrast, the Avalon project on High Street has 18 units per acre, the Minco project on Sutton Street has 42 units per acre, and the Princeton Properties residential project on Osgood Street has 21 units per acre. Click here and scroll down to the "Density" section to view the analysis.

Q: If the zoning is approved and the project moves forward, when/how will construction of it occur?

A: Assuming a proposed master plan zoning overlay that can accomodate the type of project being proposed at the Royal Crest site is approved at Annual Town Meeting in May of 2022, construction is estimated to begin in 2023. The project would be broken out into six (6) phases with various parts of the development program built out in each phase. This memo from the developer's civil engineer summarizes planned phasing: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fx2IOODQI_wSzaOsJN7ANwlTTwZv6PaN

Q: Will the Town execute a Development Agreement with Trinity Financial and Merrimack College?

A: Yes, the Town's Select Board in March of 2022 voted to approve terms for development agreements with Trinity Financial/Aimco and Merrimack College respectively. The parties have executed these term sheets with the Town pending Town Meeting approval of the warrant articles that amend the Town's Zoning Bylaw to add a mixed-use overlay district that will accommodate the proposed redevelopment of the Royal Crest property and an associated article that amends the Town's Zoning Map. The terms will be folded into formal development agreements that again, would not go into effect unless Town Meeting votes in favor of these warrant articles. Click here to learn more about the contents of the development agreements.

Q: Can the Town's water utility infrastructure and capacity accommodate this project as proposed?

A: In short, yes. The Town hired Weston & Sampson to examine its current and projected future water capacity, based on the current proposed redevelopment of Royal Crest and other new projects coming online. It notes that "...the Town’s annual average withdrawal is below the WMA permitted limit and is projected to stay below that limit for the next 10 years based on the DCR withdrawal projections. The evaluation of future/proposed development the Town is aware of predicted a 4% increase in Town demand. When compared to the DCR predictions, this predicted demand is comparable to the predictions in withdrawal." The full report can be viewed by clicking here.

Q: What is the projected financial impact of the project?

A: Although the Royal Crest property is the Town's largest taxpayer, it currently costs the Town a net loss of between -$469,222 to -$1,586,758, due to the cost to provide services, such as police and fire calls, costs to serve students enrolled in public schools, etc. The project as currently proposed would have a projected net positive fiscal impact to the Town of between $2,121,668 to $4,370,750. A financial impact report showing a positive projected financial impact to the Town can be found on this page (scroll down down to "Fiscal Impact" section), along with reporting from the Town's peer review consultants: https://sites.google.com/northandoverma.gov/royalcrest/project-details

Q: What is the projected impact to the Town's public schools?

A: The Town commissioned two studies to best understand not just the impact of the proposed Royal Crest project on North Andover public schools but also to study the school enrollment generally in the context of multiple ongoing developments as the Town prepared Facilities Master Plan II. At the time that the developer's fiscal impact report was released, there were 213 children who were enrolled in North Andover Public Schools living at Royal Crest.

Consultants have concluded that the proposed Royal Crest redevelopment, at full build-out, would house between 194 and 302 students: a range of a net loss of 19 students or net gain of 89 students. Historically there has been between 160-260 students who reside at Royal Crest.

Additional data from the studies concludes that:

• Birth rate decreased and will continue to decrease;

• Population growth is predicted to slow;

• Estimated that 56 students will result from the future East Mill Pond (High St/Mills), Minco (Sutton St.) and Avalon (High St/Mills) - total of 357 units;

• Princeton Properties (196 units on Osgood St) estimated 13 students prior to construction and have eight (8) students enrolled;

The school-aged children generated from these new developments will be distributed among all grades and must be distributed by the year in which the project are completed. This is important because most of these projects have had and will have multiple phases.

The Royal Crest project is anticipated to be completed over an eight-to-10 year period. Our peer review report, dated March 29, 2021 on page 2 states that the increase would be over a five-year period and over all grades.

Looking at the Royal Crest phasing plan, you can see that the students would come in 2026, 2029, 2031, and 2032, and that they would be generated in small groups. In 2026, the 385 Chapter 40B units and 97 market-rate units would begin occupancy; in 2029, 222 market-rate units would begin occupancy; in 2031, 120 market-rate units would begin occupancy; and finally, in 2032, the 199 townhouse units would begin occupancy. It is the phased nature of this project that allows the student impact to be spread over almost a decade.

Click here to and scroll down to "Fiscal Impact and School Capacity Study" to all documentation related to these analyses.

Q: Will existing buildings on-site be demolished? Does the developer have a plan for residents that will be displaced?

A: If the project is approved, the existing buildings on-site will be demolished in a phased manner, to make way for the new buildings. The developer has a Resident Relocation Plan, which takes into consideration the following:

• Retention of a relocation coordinator

• Units in buildings slated to be demolished in first phase will be held upon turnover

• Portion of units in buildings slated to remain will have units held upon turnover for relocation purposes

• AIR Communities relocation program for residents who choose that program (allows residents to be relocated to units in other locations that are owned and managed by the current property owner)

• Attrition of students and Merrimack College

• Existing residents will have first option to move into newly built units, pending any contrary law

Q: How much and what type of open space will this project include?

A: Over 46 acres of the site (61%) will remain open space. The project proposes to provide a nearly three (3) acre "Town Green" surrounded by dense plantings and mature trees, as well as a 1.5 mile walking/biking path that circulates around the site. All of the trees/forested area buffering the rear and sides of the site will be preserved. Most mature trees fronting Route 114 will be preserved and an additional 800+ trees will be planted throughout the site.

Q: Are any of the proposed residential units reserved for seniors?

A: The project currently calls for 35 “active living” units for people ages 55 and up. These are planned as rental (as opposed to ownership) units.

Q: Have Town Boards and Commissions weighed in on whether they support the Town Meeting articles related to this project?

A: Yes:

• Select Board: Favorable Action (vote: 4-1)

• Planning Board: Unfavorable Action (vote: 3-2)

• Finance Committee: Favorable Action (vote: Unanimous)

• Master Plan Implementation Committee: Out of 20 strategies identified in Master Plan: 15 positive, 2 not applicable, 3 neutral in nature, 0 negative

• Affordable Housing Trust: Favorable Action (vote: Unanimous)

Q: How will stormwater be handled on the site?

A: In addition to the fact that the Project, as required by law, will meet all local, state and federal regulatory requirements, the project proponents have articulated additional goals which will be met and confirmed during design and review for each Project associated with the Master Plan:

1. HYDROLOGY APPROACH: The Project will result in no net increase in stormwater runoff from the Site, and will reduce peak runoff rates for the 2-, 10-, 25- and 100-year 24 hour storm events.

2. HYDRAULICS APPROACH: The Project will provide stormwater volume mitigation beyond the regulatory requirements in order to meet the full-flow capacity of the existing 36” reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) outlet discharging to the municipal drainage system under the proposed master plan full-build conditions for the 25-year storm event (6.0 inches of rainfall over 24-hours), based on the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) “Atlas of Precipitation Extremes for the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada” per the Town of North Andover Stormwater Management Regulations.

3. PHASING APPROACH: The Project will be phased in a manner where no Phase will introduce new conditions of increased runoff or untreated impervious areas without associated Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) in place prior. The majority of the centralized subsurface stormwater detention system at the northwest corner of the site shall be provided in the first Phase of the Project, and no development shall occur within any phase without the associated stormwater management improvements as part of that same phase. Additionally, while supplemented by additional constructed stormwater wetlands in Phase 2, the minimum 2:1 wetland mitigation will occur in the first Phase.

The Project has identified at least five (5) locations under the Master Plan which may utilize green roofs for additional water quality treatment. While these will provide some addition benefit to the stormwater runoff peak rates, the primary function will be treatment of stormwater collected on the building roof through soil media.