News Story

Taunton's Whittenton Mills Complex is being eyed for a massive 390-unit apartment complex.

“This is our white whale,” said Jay Pateakos, director of Taunton’s Office of Economic and Community Development, about the challenges of the 42-acre former industrial site at the City Council as a Whole meeting on Aug. 27. 

Pateakos recalled the city's hosting an open house at the site and six developers walked away halfway through the presentation because “it was too difficult to develop" due to all the dilapidated buildings and environmental contamination. 

Who's the developer?

Enter global housing developer, Greystar, who not only wants to take on the challenge, but has the resources to pull it off. 

Pateakos told the Gazette if this gets fully approved, it will be the biggest housing development the city has ever seen.

Ryan Souls, senior director of development for Greystar, said the company has been looking at the site — at 437 Whittenton St. — intermittently over the last two years, and its attraction to the site comes down to a belief in “growth opportunities for the area” and the desire to deliver “attainable housing to areas that have been historically undersupplied.”

Lots of amenities and retail space

The early conceptual plan for the site envisions 10 buildings with a total of 390 units.

Sixty-two percent of the units will be one-bedroom, with the remaining being two- and three-bedroom units. 

Additional features being considered for the site include a pool area, a playground, walking trails, a public park/pavilion area, a couple acres of open space to be used for recreational activities, like pickleball, soccer, and basketball, and several acres set aside for new retail and commercial space. 

Souls said the development won’t be a gated community, and all the recreational and commercial/retail space will be open to the public.

How much will rent be?

All 390 units are categorized as market-rate housing.

Souls said there will be no income restrictions for the units, but the primary demographic is middle-income singles, couples, and families making at least 80% Area Median Income (AMI).

Souls emphasizes pricing is based on current market rates. Completion of this development is years away, but early estimates for one-bedroom units are $1,950 a month.

Why no affordable housing?

Souls told the Council that with such a massive undertaking with a site having such challenges to deal with, there are revenue goals the company has to meet “to make it work, from an investment perspective.” 

Greystar, he said, intends on sticking to reasonable rates across the inventory of housing units by yielding to the lower end of market-rate pricing, rather than sticking to subsidizing a small percentage of units, he said. 

Souls also said Greystar, who will also be the property manager, will employ an additional restriction that rent increases, when done, will not exceed 3% annually. 

$150 million project

The total project cost is estimated at $150 million. 

That number includes up to $5 million in demolition costs for the whole site and as much as $9.5 million in remediation efforts related to brownfield contamination and asbestos cleanup.

Tax break for developer

On Aug. 27, the City Council approved for Greystar a tax increment exemption (TIE) agreement, which excludes a portion of real estate taxes for an agreed-upon time.

Greystar will get a tax break of $16.29 million over the course of 20 years. 

Souls argued the money saved from the TIE agreement will recoup the costs of Whittenton Mills' demolition and cleanup.

Earlier this year, the City approved a TIE Agreement for a 275 market-rate unit project at 1141 County St., located directly next to the MBTA South Coast Rail Station under construction.

Benefits to the city

Souls from Greystar said the company estimates the city will bring in a lot more revenue from the project than the tax break. He provided the following estimates:

• Estimated property taxes over 20 years — $19.1 million
• Estimated excise taxes over 20 years — $2 million
• Estimated permit and connection fees — $1.5 million
• Estimated new retail and commercial growth — $1 million

That's a total estimated new revenue to Taunton over 20 years of $23.6 million, according to the developer.