Framingham Developer Proposes 2 South Side Apartment Buildings

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A proposal to build two apartment buildings on Framingham's south side is back in front of city planning officials after the project hit a snag in 2019.

VY Properties LLC, backed by Framingham businessman Vinod Patel, wants to build two three-story apartment buildings at the intersection of Irving and Leland streets opposite the MCI-Framingham site. Each building would contain about 18 apartments, according to plans, with a total of 72 parking spaces on site.

Patel first proposed the a six-story development with more than 50 apartments in spring 2019, but failed to get approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals. But Patel then amended the plan into two buildings with a total of 32 units. Not all ZBA members liked the project, they but did vote unanimously to approve the residential use variance for the site — it was previously zoned for automotive use.

"I don't have a problem with residential use there, I have a problem with this" former ZBA member Susan Craighead said in August 2019 referring to the apartment buildings.

At the same meeting, Patel said the development could cost up to $8 million to build. He told the ZBA that, as a landlord in the Irving Street area, he sees lots of demand for affordable units in that part of the city.

If approved, the project would also coincide with a major infrastructure project in the area. In December, Framingham got $250,000 from MassDOT to build accessible sidewalks and crosswalks along Leland, Irving and Universal streets.

The project has been before the Conservation Commission this winter, and will go before the Planning Board on Thursday. You can see current plans for the apartment complexes on the Framingham website.