Gloucester Planning Board unanimously backs 29-unit senior affordable housing project downtown

GLOUCESTER — August 7, 2025 — Gloucester Planning Board endorses 29-unit downtown senior affordable housing project and moves to eliminate a seldom-used zoning district. The board voted 5-0 Thursday to recommend the Zoning Board of Appeals approve a Chapter 40B comprehensive permit filed by Harbor Light Community Partners for a four-story, 29-unit senior affordable housing building at 256 Main Street, a parcel owned by the Gloucester Housing Authority since 1980 and currently used as a parking lot. All units would be one-bedroom apartments for residents 62 and older: a minimum of 16 units at 30 percent of area median income, roughly $35,000 annually, supported by Section 8 and state rental vouchers, with the remaining 13 units at 60 percent AMI, or about $70,000 for a single person. Andrew Leonard, Director of Real Estate Development for Harbor Light, cited a recent 23-unit senior project in Rockport that drew nearly 500 applications as evidence of regional demand. Member David Rosen recused himself from the vote. In a separate unanimous vote, the board recommended the City Council rescind Section 5.16 of the Gloucester Zoning Ordinance — the Village Development Overlay District — after roughly 20 years on the books with only one application ever filed.