The 2-1 vote in favor of a proposed development by the firm Atlantic Tambone was made after about an hour of input and deliberation from members of the Lakeview Advisory Committee, which was established at the end of January, and the selectmen. 

“Obviously we’re very happy,” said Tony Tambone, owner of Atlantic Tambone, after the vote. “The [selectmen and committee] looked at the issue very hard, I have to give them credit for doing as much as they did, I think they did a great job.”

Given the decision, the property will be converted from its 61B classification — which means the land owners had paid reduced taxes because property is used for recreational purposes, and the town had a first dibs to buy it — to residential uses. 

Atlantic Tambone will develop the site within the parameters of an already agreed upon Host Community Agreement with the town. That agreement allows for 23 to 28 new duplex-style townhouses that would be clustered together, leaving 40 percent of the nearly 35-acre property as open space.

A minimum of 10 percent of the condos would be affordable under state guidelines; the remaining homes would be marketed at more than $1 million apiece. Additionally, all development would be set back 500 feet from Route 1A.

The vote, which was generally supported by town leaders, was at odds with the majority sentiment expressed thus far by many residents. 

At a Jan. 19 hearing on whether the town should buy the property, which was assessed at $2.75 million, there weren’t too many issues raised against the proposal from Atlantic Tambone, according to Town Manager Peter Lombardi. Most people were concerned about increasing school enrollments with new families in town, which then led to Tambone agreeing to restrict housing to 55 and older.

Read the entire Salem News Article here