Hyannis housing project quashed: 40-acre Twin Brooks golf course sold to Riverview School

BARNSTABLE — Riverview School has purchased the 40-acre Twin Brooks Golf Course on Scudder Avenue in Hyannis for $9.8 million, according to a deed with the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds.

The sale was recorded on Wednesday.

The purchase stopped a proposal to turn the golf course into a housing complex.

Real estate developer Quarterra Multifamily Communities wanted to build 13 three-story apartment buildings within walking distance of Main Street, with 13% of the apartments set aside for affordable housing.

The Cape Cod Commission had signed off on the plan. But the project, known as Emblem Hyannis, drew heavy opposition from local residents, including the group Save Twin Brooks, which wanted to preserve the site and lodged a legal challenge in Barnstable Superior Court along with several other plaintiffs.

"Eventually the project was deemed impossible to proceed through the necessary permitting processes due to the outcry and put back on the market in January of this year," according to a statement from Carey Commercial, which represented seller TFG Hyannis Hospitality LLC.

Riverview School was first announced as under contract to purchase the site in February.

The private East Sandwich school had been searching for land for almost two years, Head of School Stewart Miller previously told the Times. The independent, coeducational boarding/day school serves students aged 11 to 21 with various learning challenges, such as autism, Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities.

Buying the property will allow the school to expand its offerings to students beyond 22 years old.

The Dover Amendment exempts educational uses from certain zoning restrictions.

The Dover Amendment, originally adopted in 1950, mandates that proposed religious and educational land uses be given more favorable treatment than other proposed uses (such as residential, commercial or industrial) under local zoning ordinances and by-laws, according to the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, an interlocal service of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

In 2016, Oceanside Performing Arts Center announced it had signed a purchase and sale agreement for the parcel with plans for a year-round performing arts center, but that proposal eventually fell through.

Zane Razzaq writes about housing and real estate. Reach her at zrazzaq@capecodonline.com. Follow her on X @zanerazz.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: No housing at Twin Brooks: Riverview School buys Hyannis golf course