Braintree Planning Board unanimously approves 754-unit Trammell Crow development at 10 Plain Street

BRAINTREE — March 3, 2026 — Braintree Planning Board unanimously approved a 754-unit residential development at 10 Plain Street, the largest housing project the town has undertaken in decades. The board voted in favor of Planning Board File 25-06 for Braintree Apartments Ventures LLC doing business as Trammell Crow Residential, clearing an 81-condition site plan permit for the $300 million project on the former Armstrong factory site after eight public hearings spanning several months. The approval came after Chair Kimberly Kroha secured a last-minute guarantee that three Phase 2 mitigation payments — an $82,000 police cruiser, a $100,000 school department payment, and a $30,000 riverwalk maintenance fund contribution — will be paid by approximately 2030 even if Phase 2 is never built. Attorney Frank Marinelli told the board the project will generate more than $3 million per year in gross real estate tax revenue at full assessment, with fiscal peer reviewer Carl Seidman of MIT projecting a net annual surplus to Braintree of $750,000 to $1.2 million. Resident Pat Mulcahy of Ellery Street urged the board to require that all licensed-trade work be performed by properly licensed professionals, citing a recent incident at a separate Messina-affiliated project where unlicensed plumbers were discovered in a 210-unit building.