Dresser Woods

37 Railroad Street

The Property

The site of the proposed development is a 5.3-acre lot that was donated to the Salisbury Housing Committee by a private citizen in 2022 for the purpose of building affordable rental units.

The parcel is adjacent to the 66-foot-wide retired railroad corridor, which contains the Railroad Ramble, also known as the Rail Trail, on the east end of Railroad Street in the village of Salisbury and used to be referred to as “East Railroad Street” but has now been named “Dresser Woods”.

This property has been chosen for affordable housing because:

• It was donated to the Salisbury Housing Committee, Inc.

• It has access to town water and sewer.

• It is a level building site with excellent soils and mature trees.

• It is a 250-yard walk to the center of Salisbury Village, which allows the development to only minimally impact parking demand in the village.

• The property was identified as a site for affordable housing in The Town of Salisbury’s adopted 2018 Affordable Housing Plan and updated 2023 Affordable Housing Plan.

The Proposed Development

The Salisbury Housing Committee is proposing to build 20 rental homes on the property in a cluster of nine buildings designed to reflect a traditional New England style. There will be handicapped accessible and adaptable units.

The development will have access to the property by using a short section of less than one-half the width of the 66-foot-wide retired railroad corridor. The required distance is less than 150 feet from the end of the pavement on Railroad Street.

Current Status

Access to the property has been approved at a Town Meeting and the Salisbury Housing Committee has been working with its development team to develop architectural and engineering plans taking all of the wetlands and zoning requirements into account. The proposed site plan has received approval from the town’s wetlands commission and planning and zoning commission.