At a meeting with residents of Harvard and Devens Monday night in Volunteers Hall, representatives of Boston developer Trinity Financial stressed that their plan to convert the old military housing at Vicksburg Square in Devens into 246 rental units, 80 percent of which will be income-restricted affordable housing, is the best way to preserve the historic buildings.

"A number of people thought these buildings were worth saving, and that's what attracted us to this development," Trinity president Jim Keefe told the meeting.

Devens Committee member Phil Crosby, speaking in support of the plan, called Vicksburg Square "our Main Street."

"What we're trying to do here is we're trying to take and save buildings that are the center of Devens," Crosby said. "…This is our center. This is who we are."

The longer the buildings stay dormant, the developers say, the less suitable they will be for reuse.

In order for Trinity to go forward with the project, town meetings in Harvard, Shirley, and Ayer (all whose town boundaries extend into Devens) need to approve changes to the Devens Reuse Plan and the Devens By-Laws, which govern zoning in Devens. In addition, Trinity is seeking a memorandum of understanding between it and MassDevelopment, the quasi-state agency that has authority over the former base, concerning its commitments to affordable housing and preferences for veterans and seniors.

This memorandum, said Hank Keating, Trinity vice president for design and construction, "will have the force of law, but it won't be built into the bylaws."

Keefe used a portion of Monday night's meeting to respond to questions raised by a meeting last week in Harvard with the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, School Committee, and Devens Economic Analysis Team.

On school finance, Keefe countered a School Committee estimate that the cost to educate new students coming from Devens would be $1.5 million. Keefe's estimate put that figure at $711,403. He noted: "The deficit, whatever it is, is also going to be coming with a significant windfall in property taxes from Harvard's share of commercial properties in Devens."

Regarding jobs for Vicksburg Square residents, Keefe said up to 89 town employees would be eligible to live in affordable housing there. He also contacted the human resources department at Quiet Logistics in Devens and learned that 75 of its employees would be income-eligible for Vicksburg Square. Hotels at Devens told him 35 employees are eligible, Keefe said.

One criticism Keefe heard at last week's meeting was that the project was isolated and residents there would have no good public transportation options. Keefe responded Monday that there is a potential to build upon the existing shuttle service between Devens and the Ayer commuter rail station.

"We're prepared to commit resources," Keefe said. "We think that having people ride shuttles instead of getting in their own cars is a sustainable approach."

Keefe also disputed a report from Harvard's Devens Economic Analysis Team that suggested condos at Vicksburg Square be sold at market rate rather than rented as affordable housing. He called out the analysis team for, he said, offering an alternative proposal that would never be feasible. No real estate professional, Keefe said, would consider the DEAT plan realistic.

"What troubles me about this is we are being compared to something that is not real," Keefe said. "…I think it's unfair and I think it ultimately, ultimately does a disservice to the residents of all three towns, and most especially to the residents of Devens."

Devens Economic Analysis Team chairman Victor Normand responded during the public comment period of the meeting.

"In a former life I worked for the planning department in Lowell, and there were people then that said no one will ever buy a unit in an old mill," Normand said. "Some of us have a longer term perspective on development at Devens."

Keefe said the time to develop the properties is now. Water is getting into the unoccupied buildings and freezing and thawing each year, he said, which could eventually erode the structures to a point beyond which any renovations would be impossible.

"That would be a shame when we have a proposal that can happen, that's realistic," he said.

Trinity Financial plans another public meeting in Shirley on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and another one in Devens that has yet to be scheduled.