Hamilton Planning Board Seeks Public Input on Gordon-Conwell Overlay District

HAMILTON -- June 6, 2023, Hamilton Planning Board holds major public forum on Gordon-Conwell Seminary overlay district. The board, led by Chair Jonathan Paul and member Abel Douglas, presented illustrative development plans for the 100-acre site and a two-tiered special permit framework at the June 6 meeting. A $90,000 independent market study by consultant Harry Abramson projected a net annual fiscal loss of roughly negative $50,000 under conventional single-family subdivision, an estimated 54 one-acre lots, versus a potential gain of approximately $1.33 million under denser mixed-use scenarios. Resident and real estate developer Jake Fimara warned that a 300,000-square-foot commercial lab building would generate up to 1,200 daily car trips on neighborhood roads. Woodbury Street neighbors demanded traffic, wastewater, and stormwater analysis before the overlay is finalized, and multiple residents pressed the board to publish bedroom counts alongside unit counts in future fiscal projections.