Winchester Planning Board Approves 10 Converse Place Special Permit in Unanimous Vote

WINCHESTER -- February 27, 2026, Winchester Planning Board unanimously approves special permit for 10 Converse Place, accepting $2 million in lieu of on-site affordable units. The board voted 5-0 on all three motions Friday, capping roughly nine months of negotiations with developer Urban Spaces over a five-story, 34-unit mixed-use building in the downtown. Board member Kerry walked members through a comparable-sales analysis that placed the fair payment-in-lieu range between $1.9 million and $3 million, depending on methodology; the applicant's final offer of $2 million was accepted after the bank holding the property title declined requests for additional negotiating time. The board also approved a separate 15 percent gross revenue-sharing arrangement capped at $1 million, with mechanics to be finalized by a working group within 45 days of the decision being recorded with the Town Clerk, a structure designed to bring total potential proceeds to $3 million in a best-case scenario. The site currently generates $49,000 annually in property taxes; the project is projected to produce up to $500,000 per year once developed. Affordable Housing Trust chair Marty Jones, a working group participant, asked the board to consider a brief extension to allow broader consensus, but members concluded no material new information was likely to emerge.