Woodstone at York Village: Why developers are changing plans to attract more families

YORK, Maine — The developers of a new housing project at the former Davis property have told town Planning Board members they hope to drop their plan for age 55-and-up units to better match the community's vision.

Lawrence Beals of the firm Beals and Associates told board members Oct. 26 his team was hired to work with developer JHR on Woodstone at York Village after the plans were approved in 2019. He said they determined fewer overall units and more single-family homes were a better fit for the “town’s goals to foster a socially and economically diverse population in town.”

“When you bring a fresh set of eyes, you see a project differently,” Beals told the board.

Beals went before the Planning Board with a proposed amendment to the project’s second phase of construction that is yet to be complete. The amendment would nix the 55-and-up units planned for several quadruplexes and replace many of the units with single-family homes.

Planning Board members did not weigh in on the project yet, as the application was continued to another meeting. The application is tentatively expected to return to the board Nov. 30, according to the board's chair.

Planning Board member Peter Smith said by phone after the meeting he has not found any reason yet to oppose the project as an individual on the board.

“Overall, so far, I don’t have any problem with it,” Smith said.

Woodstone previously proposed to be 55-and-up community

Construction at the former 111-acre Mary McIntire Davis property off York Street began in 2022. The family sold off 103 acres to JHR with preapproved plans in two separate phases.

The project was previously pitched to be a 55-and-up community. Planning took several years, though, and in 2017, the Davis family hired engineer Tom Greer and those plans changed. At the time, he said, the neighborhood would now include some single-family homes and only 35% of the units 55 and up.

The plan approved in 2019 was for 111 units in total. Town Planner Dylan Smith said approximately 52 units were set aside for people 55 and older in the second phase.

Homes in the first phase have been under construction since 2022. In the October Planning Board meeting with Beals and Associates, Beals said many of those homes have already been purchased by people ages 55 and up and that the development had already served its purpose for older buyers.

The amendment proposes to reduce the number of units in the second phase from 67 to 53, with fewer quadruplexes and more single-family homes and duplexes. Beals said lifting the age restriction will help the town increase its diversity of families in addition to helping increase the number of students enrolled in the York School District.

“Just open it up to the market for people that might want to live there,” Beals said. “This would match one of your other goals, creating housing for new families to improve enrollment.”

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Project draws some criticism from public

A few members of the public spoke out at the meeting, saying they were skeptical the change in plans would help bring families to York. Some outright opposed the new plan.

Roger Rowley of 47 Donica Road said the fact the homes built in the first phase have mostly gone to older people without children, as well as some summer residents, indicated the neighborhood is too expensive for young families. Homes in the neighborhood are listed between $889,000 and $949,900.

Rowley also complained of water runoff he believed was coming from the development. Beals said the consultants studied the site and determined the construction was not the source of water displacement.

Rowley said no leeway should be granted to the development in its request.

“These conditions were put in place for a reason,” Rowley said. “Giving them up with no consideration for the citizens of York, I do not believe, is something the Planning Board should do or should welcome.”

Some residents spoke ahead of the meeting that they were frustrated living next to the development and opposed the new plans. Brian Day, who lives on Donica Road, called the attempt for developers to drop its age restriction a "bait and switch."

Beals told the Planning Board the change would bring more families to York to improve student enrollment as desired in the town’s comprehensive plan. York School Committee Chair Tom Martine was reached after the meeting, however, and said most families with children probably cannot afford to live at Woodstone.

“If all the homes continue to stay at that price point, then no,” School Committee Chair Tom Martine said. “Unless it’s a young family that can afford a $900,000 house.”

Kathleen Kluger, who was on the Planning Board when the project was first approved, said there was “nothing really egregious here” in the amendment proposed for Woodstone. However, she argued the comprehensive plan’s approach to improving enrollment was through lower home prices.

“We wanted to do that by making our homes and our real estate more affordable,” Kluger said. “I don’t see how that’s going to be accomplished by putting it in this development.”

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Planning Board to decide on Woodstone amendment

Planning Board Chairman Wayne Boardman said it was too early to say whether the project will pass, as the board has not had a conversation about the proposal yet. He said he might be more concerned about the age restriction going away if the homes were at a lower price.

“If it was any sort of affordable senior housing, then I would say yes,” Boardman said. “I don’t think that the houses priced in this … would be an advantage one way or another for the town.”

Realtors in the market said they believe the changes proposed could make Woodstone a more appealing neighborhood. Chris Erikson of Aland Realty, which is selling the homes at Woodstone, declined to comment on the proposed amendment.

Troy Williams, of Williams Realty Partners, said he has followed the development’s planning and building process. He believes the original plan was too dense to be a comfortable neighborhood to share. More single-family homes, he said, will be more appealing to buyers.

“By having them free-standing, it opens it up, makes it flow a lot better,” Williams said. “It’s a much better product, and I think they’ll sell for more money.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Woodstone at York Village developers drop age 55-plus homes plan