GREENFIELD — Developer Jeff Bruscoe brought his plan to build a senior housing facility at 75 Oak Hill Road before the Planning Board last week, discussing the possibility of building it as a cluster development or condominium association.

Bruscoe explained he and his wife, Susan Fiske, would like to build single-story two-family homes that would be restricted to residents ages 55 years and older. He explained he is not yet sure whether he’d prefer to bundle the units into a cluster development — in which dense single-family, two-family and multi-family housing is built on a small portion of open space — or make it a traditional condo community.

“It would be either a condominium or a cluster development, so we’re doing restricted setbacks but maximizing open space while maximizing use potential for the site,” explained Jonathan Sieruta, of Sieruta Engineering. “With a cluster development, we’d have to break it out into individual lots.”

Sieruta said he and Bruscoe plan to configure the development in a way similar to that of a cluster development, but they are still unsure whether to subdivide the land and apply for permits as a cluster development, or to refer to the development as a condo association going forward.

When Planning Board alternate Erica Rioux Gees asked Bruscoe how he planned to bring the proposed development into compliance with the city’s acre-per-unit limitations without it being labeled a cluster development, Bruscoe said that although he intends to keep the housing units relatively close to one another with some open space attached to each, he does not wish for the homes to be too densely packed together.

Sieruta added that he believes the development leaves nearly enough open space per unit to comply with the city’s zoning ordinances without the cluster development ordinance. With the cluster development ordinance, he said the buildings would have to “tighten up” considerably into one area of the property.

“You don’t want to be able to look out your window into somebody else’s home. ... The buildings themselves are approximately 100 feet long and they’re about 42 to 43 feet deep,” Bruscoe said. “They are basically positioned on almost an acre so each resident has about a half acre to play with. We’re looking to landscape all the homes with perennial and herbal gardens, and then there is plenty of room out in the back area for raised beds.”

Bruscoe explained the homes would be built using insulated concrete form, a form of insulation that he said would make the houses extraordinarily storm-resilient and energy-efficient. He stressed that the development would consist entirely of single-family homes, making it easier for residents who are elderly or disabled.

“Instead of a conventional concrete pour, you have a more rigid insulation,” Bruscoe said. “These houses are going to be built in a way that hurricanes and the zombie apocalypse can go by it.”

The developer also told Planning Board members that he hopes to convert additional buildings on the property into a woodworking school, as well as a pool and cafe area.

“We have another building over here, which had had a sawmill once upon a time that would be the fitness center with a saltwater pool and the cafe,” he said. “In addition to this building, we have a 30 feet by 30 feet boiler room, which we are intending to turn into a pottery studio.”

Bruscoe went on to say the proposed designs would work well for older residents, including those with mobility issues, who are looking to downsize from larger homes.

“There’s not a single step in this thing, so if other individuals can sell their three- and four-bedroom homes, they can move out here and people with families can utilize those three- and four-bedrooms,” Bruscoe explained.

While Bruscoe said he likely won’t have more solidified plans by the Planning Board’s next meeting on July 3, the proposal may be discussed again in August.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.