Council sends Main Street and Ames Street housing proposals to Urban Affairs

MARLBOROUGH -- October 20, 2025, Marlborough council advances two major housing proposals against a January permit cliff. Attorney Brian Falk told the City Council a redesigned 67-unit mixed-use project at 163-175 Main Street must clear permitting before Jan. 12, 2026 or the 2019 special permits "are gone and we're starting over." The Taj Estates plan drops building height from 81 to 75 feet, adds 18 parking spaces for a total of 61, and projects $185,000 in annual net tax revenue. A separate hearing on a resubmitted Ames Village Overlay District would allow up to 90 age-targeted condominiums on 11 acres at Ames and Forest streets; Gutierrez Company's Scott Weiss projected roughly $450,000 in annual net revenue over a single-family alternative. Both items went to Urban Affairs. Councilors also voted 10-0 to expand Green Gold Group's marijuana retail hours at 910 Boston Post Road East and accepted a $40,000 NHTSA traffic-enforcement grant.