This quilt was the centerpiece of a recent Hope Library fundraiser; donors paid for each fish on the quilt.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer Bob Thayer

On the surface, it looks as if little has changed in Scituate’s Hope village in recent years. The winding streets near Hope Elementary School, the Hope Library and the duplex-style mill housing around the historic Hope Mill appear quiet and rural.

But a $50-million housing project is under way at the mill site.

Declaration of Independence signer Stephen Hopkins began producing iron products from a forge at the site in 1765, and during the Revolutionary War, cannons for George Washington’s army were produced at the forge.

Today, the Hope Mill Village Associates are working to develop a 155-unit apartment complex at the former textile mill buildings, along with new construction — 52 riverfront condominiums.

Right now, work is under way on the infrastructure for the project, remediation and the introduction of sewer lines to the 38-acre site. The plan is to not only provide sewer service to the mill project, but to allow the Scituate Police Department, the Hope-Jackson Fire Department, the Hope Sanitary Association, Hope Elementary School and residents of Mill Street in Hope Village to tie in to the service, according to Vincent Coccoli, one of the partners in the project. Patrick Conley and John M. Robinson are the other partners in the plan to rehabilitate the 11-building mill complex.

Coccoli said some land will be donated to a local land trust, and there will be a walking trail from the village green to the Pawtuxet River fishing area and beachfront. There is also a plan to generate electricity for the former mill site using solar energy and the Pawtuxet River.

Plans call for a museum to tell the story of the history of Hope village.

The new condominiums and apartments will add variety to the housing stock in Hope, which consists mainly of single-family and duplex houses. Houses listed for sale in Hope this month range in price from $229,900 for a Cape built in 1858, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, to $799,000 for a 4,000-square-foot, custom Tudor on 22 acres, built in 1980.

Scituate is also known for lower-than-average property taxes, fine public schools, and a low-key, rural quality of life. Another unique feature of the town is the Scituate Health Alliance, which offers community-based, affordable health care to local residents who lack traditional health insurance. One of the founders of the effort is Dr. Michael D. Fine, a family physician who lives in Scituate and practices in Scituate and Pawtucket.

“Scituate is a place where people still care about each other,” Fine said.

cdunn@projo.com