Gatehouse Group Aims to Bring ‘High-Quality’ Development to Medfield

Editor’s note: This is the first part of a three-part series that takes a closer look at The Gatehouse Group, Inc. and the 96-unit affordable housing complex it is proposing to develop off West Street. Part one focuses on who Gatehouse Group is and the history it has developing and operating affordable housing communities.

Gatehouse Group, Inc. – the Mansfield-based company – told town officials last week its focus is to work with the Medfield community to address its affordable housing need by bringing a “high-quality” development to town.

“We think there’s a real opportunity here for Medfield to leverage our proposal and obtain some real 40B benefits and protections,” McMillin said.

McMillin said The Gatehouse Group brings over 20 years of experience developing and managing “high-quality multi-family housing” and currently owns and operates 33 Gatehouse housing communities across the country, including six in Massachusetts. McMillin says his company sees its proposal for Medfield as a win-win for both parties.

“Our preference is to work with the community to address its housing needs in a manner that’s a win-win,” McMillin said. “We have made a considerable effort to design a proposal that has as low an impact as possible on the surrounding neighborhoods [in Medfield].”

The win-win scenario, according to McMillin, is Gatehouse Group develops multi-family housing in an area they believe has “a real need” for and the town sees an increase in its subsidized housing percentage, which currently stands at 4.4 percent. Under Chapter 40B, the state of Massachusetts requires towns be at or over 10 percent subsidized housing.

In an effort to develop a working relationship with the town, McMillin said Gatehouse Group has been actively seeking input and feedback from the community and will continue to do so through the Comprehensive Permit process with the at the auditorium.

“We [always] seek community input,” McMillin said. “Before and during our permitting process in order to identify what the concerns are. That’s part of why we met with the Affordable Housing Committee.”

McMillin said he and developer James E. Koningisor of Koningisor, Luciano & Associates, Inc. “learned a lot of valuable information” from their March 29 meetings with town officials and the Affordable Housing Committee and will take almost all questions, concerns and opinions into consideration regarding its proposal in Medfield.

During his meeting with the Affordable Housing Committee, McMillin provided information about the Gatehouse Group, history of its housing developments and why it wants to develop in Medfield. The following is an overview of the topics McMillin covered with the Affordable Housing Committee:

Who is Gatehouse Group?

Gatehouse is an integrated group of companies who develop and manage high-quality multi-family housing, according to McMillin and it is the only type of real estate the company operates.

“Multi-family housing is sole business of company,” McMillin said. “Gatehouse doesn’t build, own or operate any other kind of real estate.”

McMillin said the concept of the Gatehouse Group has existed for nearly 40 years but the company itself has been in business for just over 20.

Gatehouse owns and operates nearly 5,000 apartments in 33 company-owned affordable housing communities, according to McMillin, including six in Massachusetts (about 1,000 apartments).

The Massachusetts properties are:

• Quail Run, Stoughton. This is Gatehouse Group’s second-newest development. This is the prototype for the development proposed in Medfield and has 132 units on the property.
• The Retreat at Union Pond, Wareham. This community, like the one proposed in Medfield, is 100 percent affordable.
• The Preserve, Walpole. This community is the closest in terms of location to Medfield.
• Chestnut Farms in Raynham. This property has 240 units of housing.
• Franklin Commons, Franklin.
• Willow Trace, Plainville.

 “We encourage anyone to come visit our other properties,” McMillin said.

Gatehouse has national reach with properties in Florida, Rhode Island and Massachusetts but is headquartered in Mansfield.

“[We are a] local company that is accessible, hands on, cares very much about its standing in the community and where its properties are built,” McMillin said.

 What Gatehouse is Not

Gatehouse, according to McMillin, is not a “merchant builder.”

“Merchant Builder is a builder who develops its properties to be sold to an institutional user or sells them as condo units,” McMillin said. “We develop multi-family properties to hold them in our own portfolio – we build to own them long term.”

Gatehouse has Long-term Plans to Own Property in Medfield

McMillin said when Gatehouse builds a development in town, it is the company’s intent to stay and maintain that property.

“The finance companies we use assure long-term company ownership for many years,” McMillin said.

McMillin said the company typically agrees to 15-year term of ownership with an option to renew for another 15 years after the first 15-year term expires and so forth.

“This is important because having on-going interest and ownership and management of our developments – that means our communities will be filled with quality materials and designs that withstand the test of time and they will be well-maintained after they are built,” McMillin said. “Our long-term commitment is another reason we take good pride in being good neighbors.”

The Type of Development to Expect in Medfield

McMillin said developments owned and operated by Gatehouse are high-quality developments that are aesthetically pleasing and “incorporate innovative site building designs, quality materials and durable construction.”

Developments are also built to satisfy green building requirements.

“For us, green building requirements have specific meaning,” McMillin said. “For example, our buildings will be built with 2x6 construction rather than 2x4. That allows a higher level of installation. These buildings are really super-insulated.”

Other features highlighted by McMillin:

• High standard construction of development provides a direct benefit to residents in the form of reduced utility costs.
• Properties are tastefully landscaped, with an “eye towards retaining the natural features of their settings.”
• Properties are maintained to preserve the value of the company’s assets.
• Clubhouse, fitness center, business center and computer center on-site.

“Most of our communities, including the one we have planned for Medfield feature a community center and a clubhouse with a Great Room, where residents can gather for social functions,” McMillin said.

Gatehouse Also Manages Properties

McMillin said Gatehouse manages all communities and doesn’t rely on anyone else because “it doesn’t want anyone else managing its properties.”

“We also don’t want to be managing properties that may not have been built up to our standards,” McMillin said.

Gatehouse management enables the company to remain hands on and maintain internal control for its properties and help it maintain its long-term commitment to the community, McMillin said.

Who Lives at Gatehouse Properties

McMillin made it clear their properties were not Section Eight projects.

“It’s not a public housing project,” McMillin said. “It is not inexpensive or cheaply built housing. It is not welfare and it is not a poorly maintained property.

“What [Gatehouse properties are], under Chapter 40B, [are] at least 25 percent of the homes in the development will be set aside for households with incomes of 80 percent the area median income of $97,800.”

McMillin said Gatehouse communities are “made to be affordable and desirable for working people.” In Medfield, McMillin believes the development will be an attractive living option for the following: teachers, police officers, firefighters, office workers, retail workers, food service, workers healthcare workers, young professionals, town employees and seniors.

“These are people that provide critical service to the town and are the backbone of the community,” McMillin said.

To ensure Gatehouse communities are reaching the people they intend to, the company’s management team conducts a “rigorous pre-screening of all applicants.

“We firmly believe the quality of life in a community is dependant upon the people who live there,” McMillin said. “The screening is extremely involved. It involves credit checks, employment verifications, income and asset verifications, investigations into previous landlord histories, criminal record and background checks. We even make home visits where we see someone’s existing living condition prior to coming to one of our communities before they are accepted as residents. We then conduct quarterly inspections of the units in our communities to make sure residents are complying with the rules of that particular community.”

Why Medfield Should Accept Gatehouse’s Proposal

McMillin pitched the company’s reasons for why it believes the town should move forward with its proposal for a 96-unit affordable housing apartment complex off West Street. Chief among the reasons, Medfield needs affordable housing.

“According to DHCD, Medfield is at 4.4 percent of qualified subsidized housing,” McMillin said. “On a regional level, the Boston Metro area is consistently ranked among the rental markets that are least affordable. Census data shows Medfield residents share in the housing cost burden.”

Other reasons:

• “The town has a shortage in newly constructed rental homes,” McMillin said. “This high-quality housing choice is needed to be able to attract and retain talented employees for the town and area businesses.”
• “This acute need that my firm has identified makes us so interested in developing this property and likely investing more than $25 million into the town of Medfield,” McMillin said. “The need for housing is so great that we are confident it will be at or near full occupancy, the way the rest of our Massachusetts communities are.”
• “Another reason the town should accept this proposal is it will remain subject to Chapter 40B until it meets its 10 percent objective. Our proposal would move the town much closer to that 10 percent number,” McMillin said.
• “Under 40B regulations, by accepting the proposal, the town would get a year of control over subsequent proposals with the ability to deny them or condition them,” McMillin said. “If the town can put together a housing production plan, they may be able to give you two years of protection.”

In conclusion, McMillin said Gatehouse is an experienced developer, owner and management company that takes “great pride in creating high-quality apartment communities.”

“We believe our proposal for Medfield allows Medfield to meet some 40B goals with a highly desirable community, managed by an experienced, local firm with a proven track record of working with Massachusetts cities and towns to achieve their affordable housing objectives,” McMillin said.