Plymouth zoning board takes up Court Street plan for up to 195 senior living units on Nov. 16
The developer needs special permits to tear down two buildings and a kiosk, build above the 35-foot height limit and add the housing, months after the Select Board approved a development agreement for the 7.55-acre site.
PLYMOUTH A Court Street plan in Plymouth that the Select Board's July agreement puts at up to 195 senior living units, plus two buildings with shops and apartments, goes before the zoning board on Monday, Nov. 16.
The Zoning Board of Appeals agenda, posted Tuesday, lists the case for 179 and 181-183 Court St. (Route 3A) at its 6 p.m. meeting in the Great Hall at Town Hall, 26 Court St. The applicant is CGMA Plymouth LLC, which owns the land, working with Merrill Engineering and Land Surveyors.
The case covers roughly 7.55 acres between Nelson Street and Harding Avenue, the site the Select Board approved a development agreement for in July, and one of the four special permits on the agenda would let the new buildings rise above the town's height limit.
What the board is asked to approve
According to the agenda, the applicant is asking for four kinds of relief. One is a special permit under Section 203-9(C) of the zoning bylaw to demolish two existing mixed-use buildings and a kiosk and replace them with an assisted living facility and two mixed-use buildings.
The others are a special permit under footnote 7 of the bylaw's dimensional table to go above the 35-foot height limit on all three new buildings, a special permit under the bylaw's use table to build an assisted living facility, and a special permit under Section 207-7(C) to add six or more dwelling units.
What would be built
The project development agreement the Select Board approved in July describes a four-story senior living community with up to 195 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care. The developer named in it is 18th Street Development LLC, a Delaware company with a mailing address in care of The HYM Investment Group in Boston, which the agreement calls the contract buyer of the land from CGMA Plymouth.
At the front of the property, near Court Street, the agreement calls for a cluster of mixed-use buildings with about 7,000 to 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and apartments on the second and third floors, with open space for active use. The developer expects to split that piece off and sell it to another company, which would build the two buildings.
The site plan in the Select Board's July packet, dated April 30, 2026, and drawn by The Architectural Team, puts the senior living building at the back of the site with parking around it. The existing Pioppi's building stays, set back behind one of the new buildings, and the middle of the site shows a community commons, pickleball courts, a bocce court and a dog yard, with the two mixed-use buildings along Court Street.
What the Select Board agreed to in July
The Select Board voted 5-0 on Tuesday, July 7, to approve the agreement, on a motion by member Kevin Canty seconded by Vice Chair Richard Quintal Jr., according to the board's minutes. Assistant Town Manager Lauren Lind presented the agreement, which the minutes say the board was asked to sign to confirm a conceptual understanding before the developer goes to the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board.
The deal ties the project to drainage work, since part of the property drains through a town easement and the agreement says the drainage system has to be expanded and upgraded to serve the whole site. In return for the town's help with that work, the developer agreed to pursue the senior living and open space pieces, carry the mixed-use buildings through permitting and preliminary design, and leave their sites ready to build.
Under the agreement, the town can cancel it, and a separate temporary access and construction license for the drainage work, if the developer does not close on buying the land within 24 months, and it can go to court to enforce the terms after an uncured default.
When Select Board member Bill Keohan asked in July whether signing would limit the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Planning Board, Lind said it would not and that staff would watch for any substantial changes, the minutes say. A HYM representative estimated 15 to 16 apartments across the two mixed-use buildings and said the site would have three ways in and out and was designed to exceed parking requirements.
Lind said the town's inclusionary zoning requires 10% of units to be affordable in projects of more than six units and that the developer was open to meeting with the Affordable Housing Trust, according to the minutes. The League of Women Voters of Plymouth, in its observer report on the meeting, recorded that the plan shows more than 200 parking spaces and called the site Benny's Plaza.
How to weigh in
The hearing is open to the public at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, in the Great Hall at Town Hall, 26 Court St., where residents can speak. The Zoning Board of Appeals office is reached through Administrative Assistant Denise DeCoste at 508-322-3288, according to the board's page on the town website.
After the zoning board, the project also goes before the Planning Board, according to the Select Board's July minutes.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals agenda for Nov. 16, posted Nov. 10, the Select Board's July 7 agenda packet with the project development agreement and the April 30 site plan, the Select Board's July 7 minutes, the League of Women Voters of Plymouth observer report on that meeting and the zoning board's page on the town website, all read on Nov. 11. The apartment estimate is the developer's, as the minutes record it, and the parking count and the Benny's Plaza name are the league's. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (5)
- Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals, agenda, November 16, 2026Town of Plymouth, posted Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, 4:26 p.m. Great Hall, Town Hall, 26 Court St., 6 p.m.; Case 4237, CGMA Plymouth LLC, Merrill Engineering and Land Surveyors, 179 and 181-183 Court St., Map 12, Lots 1G and 3A; special permits under 203-9(C), dimensional table footnote 7 (35-foot height limit), the use table (assisted living) and 207-7(C) (six or more units). Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Plymouth Select Board, July 7, 2026, agenda packet: 179 Court Street Development Agreement and site planTown of Plymouth. Project development agreement between the Town of Plymouth and 18th Street Development LLC (about 7.55 acres owned by CGMA Plymouth LLC; up to 195 senior living units; 7,000 to 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space; drainage and town easement terms; 24-month closing term); site plan dated April 30, 2026, by The Architectural Team. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Plymouth Select Board, minutes, Tuesday, July 7, 2026Town of Plymouth. 179 Court Street Development Agreement item at 7:11 p.m.; presentation by Assistant Town Manager Lauren Lind; questions from members; 5-0 roll call on a motion by Canty, seconded by Quintal. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- League of Women Voters of Plymouth, Observer Corps report, Select Board, July 7, 2026League of Women Voters of Plymouth. Names the site Benny's Plaza; records more than 200 parking spaces in the plan and the unanimous vote. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Town of Plymouth, Zoning Board of Appeals pageTown of Plymouth. Contact: Denise DeCoste, Zoning Board of Appeals administrative assistant, 508-322-3288. Read Nov. 11, 2026.