To the Editor:

I am writing in support of the AvalonBay development at the old hospital site on Witherspoon Street for the following reasons:

1) It is smart growth being built in town where smart growth belongs.

2) It will bring 56 much needed affordable housing units to our town.

3) It will bring 224 rental units, some of which will provide housing that currently does not exist for people who work in our community and are not able or prefer not to buy a home here.

4) It is walkable to town and the shopping center and on a bus line thus allowing residents to take public transit or walk to and from work, shopping, and schools.

5) The density of the proposed development, while large, is much smaller than the current hospital. And there is significant public open space for community use that the current hospital site does not provide.

Yes, there are some things, such as garbage collection, that could become issues if we let them. But we do not have to let them. We can look at this development from a positive point of view — to the tax revenues it will generate to help offset our ever increasing property taxes, to the diversity in residents, and to the life that it will bring to the Witherspoon Corridor. Let us stop the naysaying and move forward and welcome this AvalonBay development into our community.

Barbara Trelstad

Firestone Court