The Haverhill City Council gave its approval Tuesday to the construction of a 14-unit apartment building on the site of an abandoned gas station and an adjacent office building near Monument Square.
The company, known as 7-13 Kenoza Ave., is owned by Christos Eliopoulos of Medford and John Tucci of Wakefield. Their plans call for the clearing of those two properties, at 3 Kenoza Ave. and 7 Kenoza Ave., and replacing them with a three-story apartment building consisting of one-bedroom and studio apartments. Because the property is zoned as central commercial, a Council-issued special permit is required.
The proposal has been in the works for nearly two years. Michael Migliori, lawyer for the developers, explained the delay.
“At the original hearing before the Board of Appeals, we realized there was some opposition from the Universalist-Unitarian Church. We agreed at that time, rather than proceed with the hearing, we’d meet with the church members. Once we met with the church, we all realized we needed to rethink the entire project,” he explained.
The church’s concerns included the design and height of the proposed building and its proximity to the church. In response, the developers agreed to reduce the height of the apartment building from four stories to three, reduce the number of units from 20 to 14 and to increase the distance of the building from the church’s property from five to 20 feet.
The revised plans also call for a small landscaped park area in front of the building and, at the request of Mayor James J. Fiorentini, that one of the units will be affordable housing.
Councilors expressed concern over the impact the project would have on traffic patterns. Migliori responded with a report from Chappell Engineering Associates of Marlborough that predicts a minimal impact with an average of 30 vehicles in and 30 vehicles out each day.
Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan supported what would be a lower traffic impact than its past use.
“It was a very busy gas station back when I was younger and I can assure you that won’t be happening with just 14 apartments,” he said.
With the addition of a few conditions, including approvals of all department heads, an agreement by the developer to provide landscaping and upkeep of the property including cleaning the area beginning immediately, the inclusion of a dog-waste station and the agreed-to one affordable unit, councilors approved the project by a unanimous 9-0 vote.