Planning Board approves Middle Street senior housing

Planning Board · Meeting of July 7, 2026

Hadley Planning Board approved a special permit for a senior housing development at 42 Middle Street. The board voted 4-0, with member Kishore Parmar absent, after Sovereign Builders representative Doug Sorrell addressed Postal Service and Fire Department concerns, including relocating cluster mailboxes and upsizing a water main from six to eight inches. Sorrell called a fire-code-driven 28-foot road requirement "obscene" for the small development, and the board instead conditioned the permit on homeowners' association parking rules limited to one side of the outer loop.

At least 15 percent of units must remain affordable. In a separate joint session, Chair James Maksimoski led an extensive critique of a draft 40R Route 9 overlay bylaw with the Smart Growth Steering Committee, questioning parking ratios, building heights and simultaneous rezoning of both corridor sides; no vote was taken, and the review continues August 4. The board also authorized signing a Pioneer Valley Planning Commission FY27 contract and changed ANR plan procedures 4-0 each.

In the full story:

• Sign Review: Healing Zone, 58 Russell Street
• Continued Public Hearing: Sovereign Builders Senior Housing Special Permit, 42 Middle Street
• Joint Meeting with Smart Growth Steering Committee: 40R Overlay District Bylaw Review
• PVPC FY27 Services Agreement
• ANR Filing Fee Procedure Change
• ADU Bedroom Limit Discussion
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,601 words

Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.