Winchester Infill and Small Developments
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Charlie_mta
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Yes, but it is in the downtown of a city inside a large metro area. A 6 story building shouldn't be a shock to the system. Hell, there was a 6 story apartment building in my neighborhood - North Cambridge - when. I was a kid in the 1950s, while every other building in that entire part of town was 3 stories max. Did anybody clutch their pearls in shock? No.
stick n move
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My whole point was just the extra floor. The building takes up a large part of the parcel whether its 5 stories or 6. It actually takes up more of the parcel now than it did before and theres less green space. Plus the way the building was designed the 6th floor was hidden from most angles.
Not to mention the real height difference is half a floor.
All of that whining by the nimbys just to get a fatter building with less green space to cut 3 people out of condo ownership downtown and its hardly half a floor shorter. Big win for the town!
The person quoted above as saying this building would change the character of the town is living in lala land. Shes right, it would change it enormously for the better, but we know thats not what she meant.
Regardless even against the insufferable neighbors somehow the town still ends up with an incredible addition that makes the lot infinitely better than before. The day after its built downtown winchester becomes a better place than it was before, no thanks to the community process whatsoever.
In SPITE of the community they still end up with a nicer town in the end. Its ridiculous.
Not quite accurate. You're looking at the original drawings that compared the 2022 and 2025 versions. The recent debate that led to final approval was based around the 2025 version (the thinner building) with 5 or 6 stories.
These are probably the same people that complained about developing the parking lot near the station. They argued that the loss of 17 parking spaces would force people to go to Burlington and irreparably harm downtown businesses, while ignoring the impact of 60 additional residences on the same spot.
The two issues that have been slowing this project down are the building’s height relative to the adjacent (historic) Town Hall, and the development's proximity to Mill Pond in the earlier plans. The current proposal addresses both of these concerns. To a lesser extent, there have also been issues related to building materials and façade design, as well as ground-floor uses.
The board issued the permit to avoid negatively impacting project financing, but it still needs to address the lack of required affordable units in the current design. The discussion has focused on payments in lieu of meeting that requirement.
The existing building is an eyesore, and the surrounding land is not a public park. It was always going to be developed—and it should be. That said, given its location, it’s not surprising that many people have strong opinions about what should be done. I don’t expect any city or town could approve development in the center of its downtown without extensive input from businesses and residents. And I’m not going to lose any sleep over the loss of a single unit in the new proposal, given the amount of housing Winchester has recently brought online and currently has in the pipeline.
The final agreement was a $2,000,000 payment in lieu of 5 affordable units. While total unit amount only decreased by 1, unit composition had to be adjusted to make that possible.
In my reading of the situation, I think the focus on the 6th-floor issue was not a particularly valid aesthetic concern, more just NIMBYs grasping at straws. This development had nothing to criticize: great facade/finishing quality, ground floor retail, adequate parking, low traffic impact, replacement of a blighted eyesore, etc. Pretty much the only thing left to complain about was the height.
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Mm ok yea the most recent presentation hadnt been posted anywhere. So it went from a building that was made to look like it was 5 floors from most angles, to a 5 floor building. Still ridiculous and taking future condos off the market for almost no reason or noticeable difference at all.
Yea I think youre right this project was a slam dunk so the only thing they could complain about was height so they went with that. Again that has to be some type of mental illness.
Where do you see only 1 less unit? This is the most recent presentation I can find on the town website from feb 24 and it says the 6 story building was 38 units while the 5 story is 34, so thats 4 less condos being built downtown. Was there a more recent meeting from march they didnt post?
You are correct. I was looking at the Feb 10th version, which stated 37 units for the 5-story version. Looks like they changed it between then and the 24th.
https://www.winchester.us/DocumentCenter/View/13230/2026-02-10_PB-Meeting-Packet?bidId=
awood91
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10 Converse Place | Mixed Use Suburban Housing
10 Converse Place is a new construction mixed use suburban housing project, designed for a site located in Winchester, Massachusetts.
www.hacin.com
Some nice renders from the architect that I don't believe have been posted previously.
Those are from an earlier proposal. Renders from the most recent approved design are in the link 3decker posted above.