North Attleborough Planning Board Approves $283,625 Bond, Circus Return at Thursday Meeting

NORTH ATTLEBORO -- July 18, 2024, North Attleborough Planning Board approves a $283,625 restoration bond and hears that its largest housing project has been redesigned. The board voted 4-0 Thursday to set the bond amount for the Mount Hope Adult Retirement Community, representing 25 percent of a roughly $1.13 million restoration cost estimate reviewed by outside counsel KP Law. In a pre-application discussion, Caitlin Walker of Marcus Partners told the board that the previously approved three-building, 311-unit concept at 582 Kelly Boulevard has been replaced by a six-building, 304-unit layout developed with national partner Wood Partners, citing a 10 percent construction cost spike during permitting, a new state stretch energy code that added at least $4 million in costs, and deteriorating capital markets. Board member Greg Walsh called the redesign a step backward, saying "I feel like I was told we're going to a steakhouse and right now we're being brought to McDonald's." The board also received the final draft of the joint North Attleborough-Plainville Kelly Boulevard Area Plan from Kittleson and Associates, which recommends sidewalk gap closings, a conceptual roundabout at Kelly Boulevard and Messenger Street, new pedestrian signals, and zoning changes to allow mixed-use and multifamily development by right, funded through a Mass Housing Partnership technical assistance grant and a separate $3.6 million MassWorks award.