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Debate over affordability of 388-unit project By Leighah Beausoleil Assistant Editor
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Vol. 52 | No. 4 | January 23, 2026
Running for RISE Shrewsbury mother to run Boston Marathon to support local program
WESTBOROUGH – Post Road Residential — a Connecticut-based developer — is looking to construct 388 rental units on Route 9 in Westborough. Parcels at 171 Milk Street and 222 Turnpike Road are the targets of development. The town’s zoning guidelines stipulate that new developments over 10 units must include affordable housing. There are three tiers to these types of units: affordable, priced for households that make between 50 percent and 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI); moderate, for households within 120 percent of the AMI; and market value, with no price restrictions.
Car intentionally crashed into Shrewsbury Police Station front entrance
SHREWSBURY | 2 Shrewsbury approves 300-unit 40B project on Main Street
Affordability | 5
60-unit project proposed for Southborough’s MBTA district By Leighah Beausoleil Assistant Editor SOUTHBOROUGH – The Southborough Planning Board got a peek at some “very” preliminary plans for the first proposed project within the town’s MBTA Zoning District. SJP Investments, a family-owned real estate development company, is looking to build two three-story buildings on a 4-acre parcel on Southville Road – right next door to a CrossFit and less than a mile from the train station. Each building would include 30 rental units, bringing the total to 60. There are 30 proposed 60-unit | 5
COMMUNITY
ADVOCATE
SHREWSBURY | 15 Emily Anderson is supporting Shrewsbury students by running the Boston Marathon. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
By Evan Walsh Managing Editor SHREWSBURY – When Emily Anderson heard of a setback, she couldn’t watch from the sidelines. In 2025, the RISE (Reaching Independence through Supported Employment) Program, which was created to provide 18- to 22-year-old Shrewsbury special education students with in-district precareer support, lost a $17,000 grant from YouthWorks which the district secured through the Blackstone Valley Hub. The RISE students, who run Maple & Main in Shrewsbury Center, spend their days learning skills that help them live more independently — cooking, making products, organizing, and more. The lost grant funding had been designated
to pay students their wages for overtime hours and off-site special-event work. The students’ compensation was in jeopardy, and the RISE Program’s budget was strained. As the mother of Andie — a 9-yearold with Down syndrome — Anderson leaped into action. “I wouldn’t want my daughter to work without getting paid. Her work is just as important as anyone else’s,” Anderson told the Community Advocate. “To me, not paying the RISE Program students — that can’t happen. We simply can’t run out of funds.” To help, Anderson is looking to raise $17,000 by running the 130th Boston Marathon on April 20. When she starts the race in Hopkinton, she’ll officially
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REGION | 22
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RISE | 6
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