ZBA considers new 40B apartment building proposal 

Northwest Waltham could gain another apartment building taking advantage of Chapter 40B’s zoning exceptions: the Alexan Winter Street, proposed for 245–265 Winter St.

The Alexan Winter Street’s development team spent approximately 20 minutes presenting its case for a special building permit to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals at its July 8 meeting and then spent another 40 minutes hearing concerns from Winter Street residents and other abutters.

Maple Multi-Family Land East Coast wants to build the Alexan on a 10-acre plot of land that currently houses two former office buildings.

According to the developer’s plans, the Alexan would be composed of two separate buildings: a four-story, 50-feet tall building containing 130 units and a five-story, 55-feet tall building containing 193 units.

James Szymanksi, the project’s architect of record, projected that the shorter of the two buildings would be completed after 16 months of construction, at which point the company would start to rent its units and finish construction on the second building.

The buildings are designed to maximize green space and maintain low density, according to the project description. The designs include courtyards and landscaped islands in the parking lot. They also include 456 ground-level parking spots with lighting that would be dark-sky compliant to limit light pollution.

The site is located in an area zoned for limited commercial use. 

The developer is seeking a special permit under Chapter 40B of Massachusetts General Law, which allows developers to bypass some zoning requirements in exchange for providing sufficient levels of affordable housing in communities that do not meet the state’s affordable housing benchmarks.

Maple Multi-Family Land East Coast also requested zoning exceptions in multiple areas, including building height, setbacks from other properties and minimum parking spaces.

Under 40B, local ZBAs are now responsible for working with other local government agencies to draft comprehensive special permits that would address any zoning exceptions and requirements imposed by a city or town.

As required by 40B guidelines, 81 of the Alexan’s 323 total units would be affordable, that is, they would cost no more than 30% of renters’ projected income. The developer will calculate this cost based on households making 80% of Waltham’s area median income, although it proposed calculating rent for eight of those 81 units using 60% AMI.

This is the third new 40B permit request the ZBA has considered so far in 2025, and if approved, will be the second built in the Winter Street neighborhood. The site of the proposed Alexan is down the street from The 305, another 40B project with 315 units that opened several months ago.

Public pushback

Seven Waltham residents who live near the proposed site told the ZBA they are concerned about the developer’s proposal, citing worries over greenspace preservation, traffic, strain on local infrastructure and disruptions during construction.

Sima Zaslavsky, a trustee of the neighboring Barrington Place Condominium Association, presented the ZBA with a petition with at least 25 signatures from nearby residents. 

“While we support thoughtful city growth, this rezoning request raises significant governance, safety and quality of life issues,” the petition read.

The petition asked that the ZBA require comprehensive studies on neighborhood infrastructure, neighbors’ noise and privacy concerns, and a comparison to Waltham’s plans for long-term development before it approves a permit for the development.

Zhongyuan Sun, another Winter Street resident, expressed concerns after the meeting about the increased population density that the development would bring to the area and how that might affect traffic and other infrastructure.

She said she has already seen traffic in her neighborhood get “worse and worse” following the construction of The 305 apartments.

“I think it’s like a 25 [miles per hour] road. And now my stretch gets [cars going] like 40–45,” said Sun. 

She questioned whether traffic feasibility studies had adequately captured the longer-term effects of The 305 development. “They say, ‘Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine for the future, next five to seven years,’ but that is not how [we experience it].”

In a letter to the ZBA, Waltham Housing & Community Development Director Colette Casey-Brenner warned that the current proposed Chapter 40B developments in the neighborhood would add 938 units around Winter Street and could have a significant impact on local infrastructure.

She asked the ZBA to require the developer to downsize the project and even “consider requiring the developments of all of the [nearby pending 40B projects] to scale back.”

Dave DiGregorio Sr., an advocate for statewide veteran housing legislation, also spoke at the meeting to request the ZBA prioritize lowering the cost of units in their negotiations with developers. 

“The bottom line is this: 50,600 veterans in the state of Massachusetts live on less than $45,000 [per year, so] 80% [AMI] won’t work [for them],” he said. “What’s the sense of being ‘low-income’ if you have nobody who’s able to qualify?”

Next steps

ZBA Chair John Sergi requested that the project’s counsel organize a neighborhood meeting to hear abutters’ concerns.

In the meantime, the board voted to commission a review from a Chapter 40B consultant of the development site plans. The developers agreed to pay for the cost of peer review studies on the site from independent contractors.

The ZBA will hear further discussions on this project at a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7.