ZBA approves condo project at Connors Wayside

An architectural rendering of the Connors Wayside condo conversion (Lamarr Folkman Development Group LLC)

When local developers Paul Folkman and James Lamarr first went before the Canton zoning board in July with an idea for a condo conversion at the Connors Wayside Furniture site on Route 138, they portrayed themselves as a different breed of builder with a willingness to compromise and a genuine desire to please.

Five months later, the development duo can proudly stand by those claims, having successfully won over not only the neighbors and abutters, but also a variety of community interest groups and now the ZBA itself, which backed the project by a 3-0 vote at a hearing on December 4.

Under the terms of the final approval, the applicants will be permitted to renovate and modify the existing furniture store structure — which has been owned and operated by the Connors family since 1941 — and convert it into a three-story complex with 26 one- and two-bedroom units.

The agreed-upon density was actually a compromise of sorts, reduced slightly from the original proposal of 32 units at the request of the ZBA; however, Paul Schneiders, attorney for the developer, said his clients were comfortable with that number and ultimately pleased with the outcome.

Schneiders said the developer has also agreed to set aside two of the 26 units as affordable in full compliance with Chapter 40B, and both will be handicap-accessible. Additionally, a third handicap-accessible unit will be set aside in perpetuity for free use by a local veteran, with preference given to a resident of Canton.

In agreeing to the latter provision, the developers are, in effect, giving away one of their housing units — and they are reportedly eager to do so, having suggested and pushed for the idea themselves. Lamarr, who lives in Canton, has been particularly active on this front, viewing it as an extension of his nonprofit work with both Project Outreach, which provides homes and jobs to local veterans in recovery, and We Salute You Veterans, which provides basic necessities and meals to veterans in need.

To address the details of the veteran’s unit, including eligibility requirements and the selection process, the zoning board established a three-member subcommittee, consisting of a designee of the ZBA, a designee of the developer, and Canton Veterans Agent Tony Andreotti, who is positively thrilled about Folkman and Lamarr’s offer.

“Support for our veteran population is an important responsibility for our community,” Andreotti wrote in a letter to the zoning board backing the project. “Any time we make life better for one disabled veteran, we honor all who served. I am looking forward to making this a reality.”

In addition to gaining support from the veterans’ community, the project has also caught the attention of historical preservationists, who are pleased with the developer’s plan to restore some of the historical elements of the building, particularly in the front left portion closest to Washington Street.

Considered a landmark in the Ponkapoag neighborhood, the property has been in continuous commercial use since the turn of the 20^th century, spending time as a general store and later as a gas station/repair shop before it was purchased by the Connors family in the early 1940s.

The goal of the new development, according to Schneiders, is to highlight the charm of the original storefront while promoting a use that is more in line with the existing zoning (Single Residential AA) and “less detrimental” to the neighborhood — with less traffic, minimal impact on town services, and a projected four-fold increase in tax revenues over the existing furniture store use.

Ultimately, the zoning board agreed with this position, and so too did the neighbors, who submitted 21 letters in support of the project and none in opposition.

Meanwhile, in a separate but related decision, the ZBA voted 3-0 to allow the developer to raze a single-family home that abuts the Connors building and replace it with a new single-family home. According to Schneiders, an employee of the developer would live in the home and serve as a full-time manager for the neighboring condominium development. The project required zoning board relief because the home has nonconforming dimensions and because it will share a portion of the access drive, parking lot, and utilities with the condo complex.

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