It was not long ago, on June 4th, that Walpole residents voted down the proposition to buy out the Walpole Woodworkers land on East Street.  The Chairman of Selectmen in Walpole, Eric Kraus, tried diligently for nine months to persuade the voters to agree to the proposition. Now he is shaking his head at the opponents of the purchase because a deal with a private housing developer has been settled.

The Walpole Woodworkers president, Lou Maglio, signed the sale agreement with The Hanover Company in early August–a mere two months after Walpole residents rejected the land. Hanover Representative, David Hall, plans for a 250 unit luxury apartment complex to be built on the site. A quarter of these units will be made affordable under Chapter 40b, which states local Zoning Boards of Appeals can approve certain affordable housing projects as long as some rules are obeyed. For example, at least 20-25% of the apartments must have long term affordability rates. The low income units will be made available to people that make up to 80% of the median income of the town. Although the specifics of the complex are unknown, it is said that this new building will be modeled after some of the other luxurious apartments Hanover has created with the help of Seacrest Homes. The projects developed by these two are exceptional in their designs, as their designs showcase elegance of housing in the modern age. Among them are the Ridge in Braintree and the Lodge in Foxboro. Some luxuries and amenities included in these buildings are a pool, a club house, a fitness center, and a television lounge for its residents.

The town of Walpole was going to buy the land for approximately $4.5 million through increases in property taxes. There was no legitimate plan for what the town would build, but some options included a new police and fire station or a new baseball field. Opponents questioned if the site was worth their tax dollars and were worried about the possibility of contamination within the land. On the other hand, Kraus was persistent in trying to persuade Walpole residents into agreeing to purchase the land. He wanted to stop the possibility of a large housing complex being built there and wanted to protect the town from “over development.” He said an increase in housing would cause more congestion and traffic in the downtown area. Kraus also mentioned that more children would increase class sizes in the school districts that are already filled to capacity.

When the town ultimately voted down the proposal, Maglio moved on quickly and sold his company’s land to Hanover at a significantly higher price than what he had offered to Walpole. If the town had bought out this land, the Woodworkers would have kept a couple acres for themselves to continue to do retail work. The deal with Hanover does not entitle the company to keep any of their land- they will sell all 16 acres. Hall says they are not overly concerned about the history of contamination known to this particular spot.

Hanover was eager to make a deal with the Walpole Woodworkers after the vote failed and will soon be holding meetings to clarify their proposal to the neighborhood. Although the vote did not go as Kraus had hoped, he wants the Woodworkers sale to become a beneficial residential spot in Walpole.