Stonegate Group LLC
  • HOME
  • REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
    • 45 E. Central Street. Natick (St. Patrick's Parish Property)
    • 13 W. Central Street, Natick (American Legion Building)
    • 9 Arlington Street, Boston
    • 212 Beacon Street, Boston
    • 45 Church Street, Boston
    • 48 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
    • 13-15 Marlborough Street, Boston
    • Penny Savings Bank (30 Union Park, Boston)
  • RESIDENTIAL
    • GRAFTON >
      • 8-12 High Street
    • NATICK >
      • 13 W. Central Street (former Amer. Legion)
    • WESTBOROUGH >
      • 3 Milk Street
      • Arcade Building
  • COMMERCIAL
    • BOSTON >
      • 485 Harrison Avenue
      • Penny Savings Bank (30 Union Park)
      • Rollins Square
      • Wilkes Passage (1313 Washington)
    • FRAMINGHAM >
      • 92 Blandin Avenue
      • 14 Cochituate Road
      • 861 Waverly Street
    • NATICK >
      • 11 S. Main Street
      • 6-8 Pleasant Street
      • !3 W. Central Street (former Amer. Legion)
      • 83 Speen Street
    • WESTBOROUGH >
      • Arcade Building (1 W. Main Street)
      • 5 Milk Street
      • 3-5 Summer Street
      • 18 Summer Street
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NEWS & UPDATES

St. Patrick's Open House (Feb. 25, 2020)

2/28/2020

 
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We would like to extend our appreciation to everyone who was able to attend our Open House at Natick's Town Hall this past Tuesday, Feb. 25th. 

The
development proposal for the St. Patrick's property was presented in three separate display areas: Process, Architectural and Parking.  

Representatives from the Town of Natick, Finegold Alexander Architects and Stonegate Group were on hand to field questions about the project.

We continue to encourage your feedback, comments and suggestions throughout this entire development process. 
Thank you for your support!

St. Patricks Development Project Public Meeting (Feb. 25th from 4-7 pm)

2/24/2020

 
There will be a public meeting in an Open House format from 4:00-7:00 pm on Tuesday February 25th, 2020 on the third floor of the Natick Town Hall at 13 E. Central Street.

At this forum, we will welcome your opinions and questions as well as provide further information about the development project.

This is the first of several opportunities for you to provide your input.

Additionally, Public Hearings will take place before the Planning Board, Zoning Board & Finance Committee. All of these bodies welcome written comments as well as ones made in person.
​
We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday evening for our Open House!

Natick: Developer plans restaurant, housing for former St. Patrick's School

2/13/2020

 

Written by Henry Schwan for the MetroWest Daily News (February 13, 2020)

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Photo credit:  MetroWest Daily News Staff Photo / Henry Schwan

​Natick-based developer Stonegate Group, LLC, wants to tear down the former St. Patrick’s school on East Central Street, and replace it with a mixed-use development.

NATICK – A developer plans to tear down the former St. Patrick’s School, which has sat vacant for at least five years on East Central Street near downtown, and replace it with a mixed-use development that includes a restaurant, housing and an underground parking garage.

Selectmen unanimously approved a development agreement Monday night.

“Nothing is approved,” board Chairman Michael Hickey said in stressing that the agreement does not represent a final decision. Several layers of additional local and state approval are also necessary.

Developer Stonegate Group, LLC, in Natick plans to build up to 54 rental units, 25% classified as affordable.

Stonegate President Dean Calivas laid out the details - one building on East Central Street that includes ground-level retail and 46 rental units above on an undetermined number of floors; plus, four two-family town homes located behind the building.

Stonegate bought the former school, and three lots - 4 and 6 Lincoln St. and 5 Wilson St. – in 2015 for $3.4 million from the Archdiocese of Boston. All four parcels total 1.8 acres, and will encompass the project.

One motivation for the project, Hickey said, is to maintain Natick’s total housing stock at 10% affordable. The town is just over the threshold, and adding more affordable units should help guarantee Natick stays there after the 2020 U.S. census is complete. Because all units would be rentals, all would count toward the town’s affordable housing stock, said James Freas, Natick’s director of Community and Economic Development.

Communities below the 10% mark are susceptible to hostile 40B projects that allow a developer to bypass some local regulations to build projects bigger than a community wants.

The Stonegate project is a so-called “friendly 40B,” which gives the town more influence over the project’s outcome, Hickey said.

Calivas said 20% of the affordable units are available to families who earn 30-50% of the Area Median Income, which is the middle number of all incomes for a given area. The rest of the affordable units are for those that earn 80% of the AMI.

To facilitate the project, selectmen will sponsor two articles at Town Meeting in April. Both must pass to move the project forward.

One extends the downtown mixed-use zone to include land for the Stonegate project. Currently, the 1.8 acres are zoned residential.

The second article grants a liquor license to the site, which is necessary to put a restaurant on the ground floor.

Even with Town Meeting approval, Calivas said there are other hurdles to clear, including approval from the state Attorney General’s Office, final qualification as a 40B project and clearance from the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Calivas hopes to break ground in the spring of 2021, and said a community meeting on Feb. 25 will solicit community feedback. A time and location haven’t been determined.

Natick’s 2030 Master Plan, developed by the town, calls for a vibrant downtown that includes more housing, with shops and restaurants within walking distance. According to Hickey, projects like the one planned by Stonegate fit the bill.
​
“We’re responding to what the community says it wants,” Hickey said.


​You can also follow us on Facebook at Stonegate Group LLC Saint Patricks Project or by clicking here.​

New Proposed Development for Downtown Natick  (St. Patrick's School)

2/11/2020

 
On February 10, 2020, the Natick Board of Selectmen signed an agreement with Stonegate Group LLC, a Natick-based real estate development company, for the redevelopment of the St. Patrick’s school site on East Central Street in downtown Natick. The property has been vacant for five years and was mostly unused for many years before that. The new development will offer space for a new restaurant and/or retail businesses and approximately 500 square feet of office space leased to the Town, an area of public open space, and 54 residential units, some of which will be townhouses. Twenty-five percent of the units will be permanently affordable. Importantly, the agreement controls the development’s transition toward the neighborhood.
 
Michael J. Hickey, Chair of the Board of Selectmen noted, “Natick residents tell us they want more things to do in Natick Center, like more restaurants and places to shop. We also hear from people who want new and different housing options – places that are walkable, close to shopping and rail. The sorts of places that attract younger professionals, empty-nesters looking to downsize, and people who just want to live downtown. The continued vitality of Natick Center depends on all of these things, so a mixed-use development like this is a great opportunity. At the same time, it’ll add to our tax base and an architectural enhancement to the eastern gateway of the downtown.” The project is consistent with the Natick 2030 Master Plan.
 
The project is being proposed as a so-called “friendly 40B.” In a friendly 40B, the developer works cooperatively with the town to proactively pursue a mutually beneficial development that helps to meet the Town’s needs for diverse and affordable housing choices. The plan’s open space, potential restaurant/retail, rent-free office space leased to the Town, and share of affordability are aspects of the agreement. Above and beyond the regular 40B requirements, 20% of the affordable units will be reserved for very low income households.
 
At this time Natick has 1,477 affordable housing units. This project would help ensure Natick maintains its Safe Harbor status. Under state law, municipalities without Safe Harbor have little control over the density, size, or location of 40B projects.
 
Legal counsel retained by the Board (a firm that has represented the Town’s interests in several 40B matters over the years) advised the Board that executive session was appropriate given that aspects of the Development Agreement that related to the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property. The development review will be conducted by the Natick Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for a Comprehensive Permit. This permitting approach guarantees a significant contribution of affordable housing units and that all of the units on the site will be counted on Natick’s State Housing Inventory.
 
For the development to include at least one restaurant, Town Meeting will need to extend Natick’s Downtown Mixed Use zoning by one block to include the front portion of the parcel.
 
The Stonegate Group has a strong track record in Natick, Boston, and other communities with quality development projects. Most recently Stonegate was responsible for the redevelopment of the former American Legion building in Natick Center, which included new retail space, a popular new restaurant (Buttercup), residential units on the upper floors, and parking below.
 
There will be many opportunities for public input on this project. Public hearings will take place before the Planning and Zoning Boards, and the Finance Committee. In addition, the Board of Selectmen and Stonegate will host an open house forum on the project on February 25, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. to provide information, answer questions, and listen.
 
Both the Board and Stonegate look forward to hearing the community’s reaction and feedback to the development proposal. “We have a proud history of supporting local businesses and working with communities, and we very much look forward to hearing the community’s thoughts about the development plan,” said Sean McGrath, CEO, Stonegate Group, LLC.
 
For additional questions regarding this project, please contact the Select Board and Town Administrator at 508.647.6410 or Dean Calivas, President, Stonegate Group, LLC, at 508.655.1700. 

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  • HOME
  • REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
    • 45 E. Central Street. Natick (St. Patrick's Parish Property)
    • 13 W. Central Street, Natick (American Legion Building)
    • 9 Arlington Street, Boston
    • 212 Beacon Street, Boston
    • 45 Church Street, Boston
    • 48 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
    • 13-15 Marlborough Street, Boston
    • Penny Savings Bank (30 Union Park, Boston)
  • RESIDENTIAL
    • GRAFTON >
      • 8-12 High Street
    • NATICK >
      • 13 W. Central Street (former Amer. Legion)
    • WESTBOROUGH >
      • 3 Milk Street
      • Arcade Building
  • COMMERCIAL
    • BOSTON >
      • 485 Harrison Avenue
      • Penny Savings Bank (30 Union Park)
      • Rollins Square
      • Wilkes Passage (1313 Washington)
    • FRAMINGHAM >
      • 92 Blandin Avenue
      • 14 Cochituate Road
      • 861 Waverly Street
    • NATICK >
      • 11 S. Main Street
      • 6-8 Pleasant Street
      • !3 W. Central Street (former Amer. Legion)
      • 83 Speen Street
    • WESTBOROUGH >
      • Arcade Building (1 W. Main Street)
      • 5 Milk Street
      • 3-5 Summer Street
      • 18 Summer Street
  • ABOUT US
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT