Sherborn is
currently facing a potential building boom in housing units that it has not
faced in decades. Sherborn has seen little private sector housing growth since
the 1970's. Two of the largest projects since that time have both been Town-sponsored: 24 units of age-restricted apartments at
Woodhaven in the 1980's, and the 17-unit Leland Farms condominium project in
the late 1990's.
The only significant
private projects since the 1970's have been the 19-lot Cider Hill subdivision
approved in 1989, Sherborn Meadows (24 age-restricted condos built in a garden
apartment style in the early 2000's) and the 18 age-restricted condos of Abbey
Road approved in 2015 and now under construction. The Whitney Farms 40B project
represents 48 more units but apparently only a single unit has been sold so far
after years of construction and marketing.
According to
the U.S. Census, there were 1451 housing units in Sherborn in 2000. By 2010,
the figure had risen to 1479, an increase of 1.9%.
Since 2015,
the Town has seen a burst of proposed new development. The Fields 40B project
includes 32 townhouse condominiums. While it was approved by ZBA, it is
currently under appeal. Additional 40B projects include Coolidge Crossing (88
townhouse condominiums), the Villages at
Sherborn (84 apartments - twelve 3-BR units and 72 1-BR), Green Lane (16 duplex
units) and 59 North Main Street (12 single family condominium units). These
projects represent 232 units of housing, or about 15% of the current housing
stock.
How does this
compare with past housing booms? The two largest boom periods were separated by
just 2 years. The late 1960's represent the most intense residential
development era. From 1964 through 1969, several subdivisions were approved
totaling 325 lots (average 54 per year). That was preceded by a lesser boom from
1955-1961. During that era subdivisions were approved totaling 151 lots
(average 22 lots per year). In between these eras "only" a total of
21 lots were approved in 1962 and 1963. Of
course, the houses were not all built at once; it took several years to build out these
subdivisions.
According to
the U.S. Census, there were 564 housing units in Sherborn in 1959. During the
1960's, an additional 368 were built -
an increase of 65%. During the 1970's an additional 258 were built - an
increase of 28% over the 1969 figure. Overall, the number of housing units
increased 111% during the 20-year period from 1960 to 1980.
