Developers present 89‑unit affordable senior housing proposal for 50 Lockwood Ave

Representatives for 50 Lockwood LLC presented initial designs for a nine‑story affordable senior housing development at 50 Lockwood Ave during the Planning Board meeting. Attorney Janet Garris and project architect Tyler Torvill described a roughly 0.6‑acre site plan featuring about 89 units (mix of studios and one‑bedrooms), a 2,250‑sq‑ft community center on the ground floor, 31 parking spaces with EV charging infrastructure, and a rooftop PV system. The team said the building will be all‑electric as required by the financing agency (HCR) and will include accessible units targeted for mobility and sensory impairments.

Board members asked how the community center would be programmed and whether any space would be retained for the former congregation; applicant representatives said the church is not being offered a replacement congregation space but that salvageable items from the church (damaged in a 2018 fire) would be preserved and incorporated into design. Members pressed about paratransit and medical transport access, shared parking during community events, and whether the project could provide more accessible spaces than the code minimum; the applicant said site constraints limit additional accessible parking but agreed to work with city staff on programming and access details ahead of a future public hearing and site‑plan submission.