Urban Affairs backs Ames Village Overlay for 90 condo units

MARLBOROUGH -- August 4, 2025, Marlborough committee advances 90-unit Ames Village condo overlay on 4-1 vote. The Urban Affairs and Housing Committee recommended the new overlay district covering 11 acres at Ames and Forest streets, allowing multifamily condominiums by special permit on what is currently A3 single-family land. Attorney Brian Falk, representing the Gutierrez Company affiliate Marlboro-Northboro Realty Trust, said the Planning Board endorsed the change 5-0 on July 21 after no public opposition at either hearing. The overlay requires a four-acre vegetated buffer, caps height at four stories and sets affordable housing at 12 percent at 80 percent AMI. Councilor Sean Navin dissented, saying the city "needs more single-family housing." Council President Michael Ossing countered the project "does not impact our schools." A second 5-0 vote advanced a table-of-uses amendment adding coffee roasteries by special permit in Neighborhood Business zones.