News

Affordable housing site for sale

By Victor Tine
Staff writer
Published: November 19, 2009

ROWLEY — A long-derelict parcel of land in the village center, once slated as a site for affordable housing, is on the market.

The property at 164, 166 and 172 Main St. went up for sale last week. The agent for the sale, John McCarthy of Rowley Realty, said the asking price is $599,900.

The parcel is owned by Windover Development of Manchester and was to include the affordable housing component of a large project that would have turned the 89-acre former Rowley Country Club on Dodge Road into 54 townhouse condominiums for residents 55 and older.

Windover bought the three-quarter-acre Main Street tract and three dilapidated buildings from previous owner Robert Todd in August 2006 for $850,000. The property is within a triangular block bounded by Church, Main and Central streets.

McCarthy said there has been "quite a bit of interest" in the property since his for sale signs went up on Friday.

"A whole bunch of people have come in to ask about it," he said.

Windover Development President Lee Dellicker could not be reached for comment, so it was not immediately clear how the sale of the Main Street parcel would affect the larger country club project.

Planning Board Chairman Cliff Pierce said permits for Main Street and the country club have been linked in the past. Any modifications in the overall project would probably have to come back to the Planning Board for further action, he said.

The Main Street/country club project was approved by the Planning Board in June 2007, but the entire development has been on hold because of the general slowdown in the housing market.

The Main Street project was to include 10 residences and four commercial units — probably retail or office space — in three buildings, according to plans produced in 2006. There were also to be 21 parking spaces on the site, behind the buildings facing Main Street with access via Church Street. Six of the 10 residences — all one-bedroom units — were to be classified as affordable.

The three Main Street buildings have been a blight on the Rowley village center for decades. The Windover plan was viewed as an opportunity to improve the area, either by razing and rebuilding the existing structures or by rehabilitating them.

The former Rowley Country Club, which was scheduled to be closed at the end of the 2006 season, has instead continued to operate under the Carriage Pines Golf Club.

The golf club property, at 235 Dodge Road, is not part of the sale package being marketed by Rowley Realty, McCarthy said.

Windover earlier this year signed a two-year lease with the Carriage Pines operator, B&D Golf Enterprises of North Reading, to keep the nine-hole course open for two more years. A separate lease for the same time period was signed with Mitch Mitchell for Affairs Catering and Back Nine Tavern, the club's on-site restaurant.