Granary expected to start building in June

The Granary at Draper Farm development is expected to begin construction of the first of its 10 phases in late June. Currently, 18 lots are planned for building.

Colby Cox, founder of developer Convergence, attended Milton Town Council’s May 5 meeting to give an update on everything happening with the development. He said the goal is to get the first 18 lots built this summer with plans for a grand opening in September. Phase 1 of the Granary development is expected to build 175 residential home sites. Phase 2, which will add another 110 home sites, is expected to receive final approval by the Milton Planning and Zoning Commission at the commission’s Tuesday, May 20 meeting.

“The vision for this project, while its scope and scale is large, is to make it a part of the town as much as possible,” Cox said. “Obviously, it's new. Its architecture is not going to be 1600s, 1700s Victorian architecture, but its look, its feel, its access points, its connection to the town and, primarily, [we’re] not trying to duplicate things that are already great attributes of the town. And then maybe some of the things the town doesn’t have, we can bring into this project.”

Among those amenities planned are a bicycle and pedestrian path throughout the development, which will include an underground tunnel connecting the Granary to the existing Rails to Trails. The development will also have recreational fields, a skatepark, an amphitheater and what Cox refers to as a brewery incubator, which he envisions as a small-batch brewery where home brewers can get experience working on a larger system. Cox said for the Granary’s small commercial element, he would like to see a specialty grocer for that space. All of these amenities, he said, are for general public use.  

Cox said there has already been a lot of interest in people seeking to move to the Granary, which over its 20-year buildout will have 1,350 home sites on a 450-acre parcel on Sand Hill Road. Cox said two builders will be putting up houses in the Granary: DRB, formerly Dan Ryan Builders, and D.R. Horton Builders. He said the two builders are only responsible for the first four phases of the project.

Cox also went into further detail on the Granary’s special development district designation, which is essentially a tax on Granary residents that is used to pay for public improvements. He said all of the money raised by the designation is being used toward projects for the general public, and not just in the Granary. The town has used part of the $5 million it got from the designation to upgrade water meters throughout town. 

“The benefit to me as the developer is I can do these things that I would never be able to do if all I had to rely on is the economics of just developing a property,” Cox said. “We intend to deliver on what that program is designed to do. I know it was a risk. There was a lot of confusion. It's new. But when this is built out, it is going to be absolutely fabulous.”

He added that once the Granary is built out, it will quadruple the amount of open space in the town. Cox also touched on the idea of solar streetlights, a contract for which was recently rejected by town council. He said he is still a believer in the concept and would like to make them work within the Granary.

When asked by Councilman Robert Gray as to whether the Granary would include any lots for workforce/affordable housing units, Cox said Convergence is looking at finding ways to make that type of housing work within the development.