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40Bs in motion
Abrem Quary development nearly done; Beach Plum completes nine houses
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Nantucket's two Chapter 40B affordable housing developments are progressing at a pace that those building their own homes might envy.  | | Abrem Quary subdivision site plan |
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With the application deadline for the affordable units fast approaching on July 9, Nantucket Homes for People's 28-unit Abrem Quary development between Field and Folger avenues in the Badlands expects to have all of its houses completed in about two-and-a-half weeks, said Windwalker Real Estate sales associate Beth Maier, who is handling sales of the Abrem Quary houses.
"They're still aiming for a middle of July completion of the development," said Maier. "There will be 20 closings coming up for the market rate homes at the end of July."
Developer Josh Posner, meanwhile, reports that his Beach Plum Village off Rugged Road and Scott's Way has completed nine of its 40 modular homes built by Huntington Homes, Inc. of East Montpelier, Vt., including two of its 10 affordable units, and is wrapping up infrastructure installation.
"We've virtually finished the site work and basic infrastructure in terms of roads, water, sewage drainage and electrical," said Posner. "We built nine houses in the first winter; two of them are affordable and the others are market rate."
Only the second and third residential developments built on Nantucket under the state's Chapter 40B law that requires developers to build 25 percent of the houses as affordable under state affordability laws, Abrem Quary and Beach Plum both held lotteries this winter to determine which applicants would be awarded new year-round homes. Maier said that out of 400 applications selected, 87 people applied for the 20 market rate homes, while Nantucket Homes for People has since found qualified buyers for all eight of the affordable units, seven of which cost $242,000 each, and the eighth at $377,400, to be reserved for a senior or disabled person.
All of the 3.6-acre Abrem Quary houses will be going to Nantucketers in need of housing, including the affordable units. A tour of the site revealed five different house styles and interior layouts.
Maier stressed that Nantucket Homes for People made great efforts to keep Abrem Quary affordable, and to use the highest quality building materials possible within its budget. Another appealing aspect of the project is that all of the houses are being built at the same time, meaning that as the owners move in, the only noise they will be dealing with is normal neighborhood comings and goings, while those who buy a house now in the 10-acre Beach Plum Village will be listening to construction sounds until the rest of the units are completed.
Still, owners in Beach Plum will have time to ease into their surroundings as their development is gradually built out to include a community center and pool. Posner said that because his development is phased over three years, all of the new owners of their 10 affordable units have not been chosen yet.
"We just did five because of the time frame," said Posner. "We didn't want people to wait so long for their houses. They'll do another lottery for the other five next spring or next fall."
Beach Plum's affordable units are going for $226,000 for a threebedroom and $243,000 for a fourbedroom house. The market-rate houses will go for whatever the market will bear starting at $1,070,000 while Abrem Quary's market rate houses are all under $600,000.
"We're really excited about how well the project is coming out," said Posner about Beach Plum Village. "The architecture is terrific and it is very much in keeping with the look of Nantucket villages. We hope people will come by and check us out to see how nice a mixed and marketable community can look, because we think they will be pleasantly surprised."
Beach Plum Village got approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals on May 24, 2005 after more than a year of contentious public hearings at which neighbors of the project pushed for several different reductions in the number of units to be built. After an initial proposal of 72 houses, Posner decided, as did the board by a vote of 3-2 on Jan. 29, 2005, that 40 was the number.
Abrem Quary's groundbreaking took much longer. After receiving ZBA blessings in April 2001, Nantucket Homes for People's 40B, formerly known as Compass Rose, endured six years of litigation from neighbors of the project who also
pushed for fewer houses. I | 
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