At Town Meeting in May of 2015, Andover voters approved the creation of the Historic Mill District (HMD). This new zoning district encompasses nearly one hundred (100) acres in downtown Andover. The purpose of the HMD is to encourage Smart Growth development in proximity to Andover’s regional transit station by fostering a range of housing opportunities within mixed-use development projects.
The goals of the design guidelines are to preserve and augment the Historic Mill District’s architectural qualities, historic character and pedestrian scale. To incorporate the different characteristics of the areas lying in the HMD, the design guidelines are organized into three different corridors: River, Rail, Road. Development along the River corridor needs to be sensitive to the watershed elevation and be less dense and preserve the natural environment while the design guidelines encourage higher building elevations and density along the Rail and Road corridors to take advantage of the nearby commuter rail station.
In Spring 2021, the Town of Andover let a Request for Proposals for the Redevelopment of the Town Yard site, a key 4 acre parcel adjacent to the Commuter Rail Station. The Design Guidelines formed the basis of the RFP with broad community-based support. A developer for the site was selected in late 2021.
Town of Andover
Three Corridors
Changes in topography influences perception of building height. Design Guidelines for the Rail corridor anticipate a redevelopment plan for the former Town Yard and leverage the sloping grade change to cover shared parking with the adjacent the commuter rail. Design Guidelines articulate building massing, height, public realm interface, façades and materials and linkages and connections to adjacent sites.