"The least likely impact to the town." That was how Planning Board Chair Stephen Johnson described Tewksbury's new MBTA Communities districts in June, according to the Lowell Sun. He chose those words carefully.
On Oct. 6, Special Town Meeting adopted the district. Article 19 passed 133-33 and Article 20 passed 155-5, the Tewksbury Town Crier reported. The headline figure attached to the vote is 1,792 units of theoretical multifamily capacity. That number describes a formula. Tewksbury's new homes in the near term are coming from a handful of permitted projects on Main Street, the corridor voters refused to rezone in 2024.
If you're comparing Tewksbury with neighboring towns, or weighing a condo here against one somewhere else, that difference changes what you should watch.
The 2024 map and the 2026 map put housing in different places
The first district Tewksbury put to voters was called "Main A." It covered 84 acres along Main Street, between Shawsheen Street and Jon Ryan's Pub, and modeled 1,214 units. Town Meeting rejected it 565-142 on May 8, 2024, per the Lowell Sun.
After that vote came the costs. The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the law in January 2025. The Attorney General sued Tewksbury and eight other communities on Jan. 29, 2026. Town Manager John Curran told Town Meeting the town had lost $1.7 million in grant funding, the Lowell Sun reported. Asked whether the town had any other way to resist, Curran said, "it is settled law." Town attorney Kevin Feeley added, "There really is no more clock for us to run out."
The boards didn't bring Main A back. A joint Select Board and Planning Board working group drew a new map with help from the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments. It has two pieces. One sits east of Clark Road and north of Interstate 495. The other surrounds Ames Hill Drive near Ames Pond.
The new map models more units than the one voters rejected, 1,792 against 1,214. Much of that capacity is on land where little is expected to change.
Two numbers from the same June meeting
The June 15, 2026 joint-board minutes show the gap between modeled and realistic capacity in Curran's own account.
| District piece | Modeled units | What the record says about it |
|---|---|---|
| Clark Road Subdistrict One | 886 | Curran described it as straightforward in meeting the district's requirements |
| Ames Hill Drive Subdistrict Two, with 75 Radcliff Road | 906 | Curran said he did not believe 75 Radcliff could hold 906 units. He said its owner estimated about 19 |
| Rejected option: 3 Radcliff Road instead of 75 | 805 | Passed over because it is a commercial lot with a thriving business |
The minutes record Curran saying the numbers were based on the area and what fit under the state formula. He added that what would actually happen in the districts would more closely match the conditions on the ground.
The rest of Subdistrict Two is the Ames Pond Lodge property. In March, Town Planner Alexandra Lauder told the boards the Lodge has roughly 26 eligible acres once resource areas are removed. She said it already meets the law's 15-units-per-acre threshold, so rezoning it would not create practical capacity for new construction beyond one-for-one replacement, Townbrief reported.
So one subdistrict combines land that is already built to the required density with a six-acre parcel whose owner expects a couple dozen units at most. The boards also chose 75 Radcliff partly to protect commercial property and the tax revenue it brings.
The bylaw itself caps what any of this land could become. Under the Oct. 6 Special Town Meeting warrant, the overlay allows two-family homes, townhouses and multifamily housing by right, and property owners keep their existing underlying zoning rights. It sets a maximum density of 15 units per acre, a height limit of four stories or 48 feet, and at least 1.5 off-street parking spaces per unit. Applications for 10 or more units fall under the town's affordable housing section, which covers 10% of the units in a multifamily development, and the bylaw says those affordable units "shall not be lower than 80% Area Median Income." Nothing in the bylaw requires anyone to build.
Where the new units are actually rising
Tewksbury's visible residential construction this year is in the town center, approved one project at a time through the ordinary permitting process. The Town Crier's August roundup listed three projects.
- MacLellan Oil property, 1167, 1177 and 1187 Main St. Crews were clearing trees for a four-story, 24-unit multifamily building that the Planning Board approved in early 2024.
- Former Discount Madness site, 1325 Main St. The store closed in early 2020 and the lot has been vacant since. The 2.1-acre site was approved in May for two seven-unit buildings, 14 units in all. Each building has five two-bedroom and two one-bedroom apartments, and two of the 14 units are designated affordable.
- Sycamore Hall, 24 Pleasant St. The historic building is being kept with three residential units, plus a new eight-unit building behind it. It was approved in late 2021 and was getting windows and finishing touches by August.
Together that is about 49 units, about three-quarters of them on Main Street itself. Measured by what is being framed and finished, the corridor voters kept out of the overlay in 2024 is adding more housing than the new district is likely to add soon.
These projects are also small: apartment-scale buildings with one- and two-bedroom layouts. That is the part of the market that matters most for condo buyers and small investors right now.
Why the condo side is the one to watch
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors' September 2026 Tewksbury report shows single-family homes and condos moving in different directions.
- Single-family, September 2026: median sale price of $756,500, against $784,050 in September 2025. There were 16 closed sales, 35 active listings and 1.9 months of supply. Homes took 22 cumulative days to sell, and sellers received 102.7% of original list price.
- Condos, September 2026: median sale price of $498,500, against $540,000 a year earlier. There were 12 closed sales, 20 active listings and 2.2 months of supply. Cumulative days on market rose to 33 from 20, and sellers received 98.2% of original list price, down from 99.2%.
Monthly samples this small swing a lot, so a single month is a signal, not a trend. Still, the signal is consistent. Single-family buyers in September were still paying above original asking. Condo buyers were getting time and some room below list.
Read that next to the construction list. The near-term additions to Tewksbury's supply are multifamily units in the town center. They are the closest substitute for an existing condo, and nothing comparable is being added on the single-family side. If you're a condo seller in the town center, the 24-unit MacLellan building and the two buildings at 1325 Main are the new supply to price against. The 1,792 modeled units at Clark Road and Ames Hill are not. If you're a single-family buyer, the new district does little to ease the competition behind that 102.7% figure.
What is still unsettled
Adoption at Town Meeting is the local step. The Attorney General's suit asked the court to require both compliant zoning and a compliance application to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The state's published roster of approved districts is dated Aug. 27, 2026, before the vote, and Tewksbury isn't on it. Until the state acts, the most accurate description of the district is "adopted, with state review to follow."
The 1,325 Main St. project also had approval but no reported construction start as of August. Sycamore Hall took four years from approval to finishing work. On Main Street, an approval puts a project on the calendar, but it doesn't set the date.
Frequently asked questions
Does the new district mean 1,792 apartments are coming to Tewksbury? No. That figure is the state model's theoretical capacity. The town manager said 75 Radcliff Road would likely yield about 19 units. The town planner said the Lodge property already meets the density threshold, so rezoning it adds no practical capacity beyond replacement.
Does the overlay change what I can do with a property inside it? The warrant says multifamily housing becomes allowed by right while owners keep their underlying zoning rights. Before planning anything, read the bylaw text in the warrant and confirm your parcel with the town.
Why did the vote happen now, after the 2024 rejection? Officials pointed to the $1.7 million in lost grants, the January 2026 lawsuit, and the 2025 court ruling that upheld the law. Finance Committee Chair Richard Levasseur told voters the losses were affecting the schools, general government and the Department of Public Works, per the Lowell Sun.
This post is general information about a local bylaw and market conditions, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check your specific property or purchase with an attorney or the appropriate professional.
If you own a condo or a small multifamily near Tewksbury center, your next sale will compete with the new buildings on Main Street, not with a number on a state model. Nancy Fudge has priced homes through every kind of supply shift in this area since 1981. Fudge Properties can show you how the September condo numbers and the Main Street pipeline apply to your address. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
