BRATTLEBORO — Two separate developers received approval from the Development Review Board last Wednesday night to build 16 new apartments in Brattleboro.
JMS Capital Group, which owns the TD Bank building on the corner of Main Street and Harris Place, proposed 12 units in the building to replace office space and John Brunelle for E&C Properties discussed erecting a new building with four apartments at 55 Black Mountain Road.
“We’re taking the existing two story commercial space … and we’re looking to convert the entire second floor,” said Joey Goldzal, of JMS, which is located in New York City.
The entire building is about 14,000 square feet, he said, and about 8,700 of that will be converted into apartments, with 10 on the second floor and two on the first floor. He said TD Bank will remain in the building for the time being.
“The work is primarily interior work with the exception of new windows,” he said.
Goldzal said JMS has already consulted with the bank which indicated it has no concerns over security.
Because JMS is not using federal funds for the conversion, none of the units will be considered affordable housing, though Goldzal said if TD Bank does move out some day, they will consider installing affordable units.
All of the second-floor units will be one bedroom. There will be one two-bedroom and one one-bedroom on the ground floor.
JMS’s application received unanimous approval from the DRB.
After reviewing the proposal from JMS, the DRB heard from Brunelle about the building on Black Mountain Road. He noted the proposal before the board last Wednesday was pretty similar to one approved by the board about a year ago.
In the earlier proposal, a retail store was included in the project.
In this new iteration, he said, the store was eliminated and replaced by an apartment.
“It just seemed like it was more needed,” he said. “But basically everything stayed the same.”
Brian Bannon, the town’s zoning administration, told the DRB the proposal conforms to all town regulations.
The Black Mountain Road project also received unanimous approval from the board.
Source: reformer.com
