A proposal for a senior affordable housing project located on the Tremont Nail property has the Board of Selectmen reviewing potential options for housing on the site.

Acting on a suggestion from the Tremont Nail Master Plan Committee and Community and Economic Development Authority (CEDA), the Board voted in February to explore the possibility of adding senior housing to the site, which would bring in revenue for the town whilst bringing it closer to the goal of 10 percent affordable housing.

The proposal, the first of its kind for the Tremont Nail site, was presented by Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. of Boston, and Mostue & Associates Architects, inc. of Somerville. The project would remove the Steel Building on the western portion of the property and construct a 36-unit building, with 33 one-bedroom apartments and the remaining units with two-bedrooms. A second 10-unit building with five one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments would be constructed next to the existing office building on Elm Street.

The remaining buildings on the property would be addressed at a later date, said CEDA Director Chris Reilly.

Board members expressed concern that the rents, estimated at $800 to $850 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, would not be affordable for seniors.

"We were looking at a majority of the units being in the $500 range in our previous [senior housing] project because of the demographic of the seniors in town," said Selectmen Chair Jane Donahue, adding that the housing might appeal to young professionals and Boston commuters. The Board would have to discuss the various options further, she said.

The Steel Building is currently rented by Atlantic Boats. If the plan were approved, the lease, which is up in two-and-a-half years, would likely be complete by the time groundbreaking would occur, Reilly said.

The town purchased the Tremont Nail property for $1.2 million in 2004. The proposal was presented a day after Town Meeting voted to use $245,000 of Community Preservation funds to repair the roofs on the Factory and Freight buildings.

Town Meeting also voted to form a study committee to examine the possibility of developing senior affordable housing at the town-owned Westfield property.  That site's distance from downtown was one of the main arguments against the proposal, which had been sent to further study twice and then defeated once at previous town meetings. Opponents of the Westfield proposal often cited the Tremont Nail property's central location as an asset for senior housing.