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The State of Massachusetts empowered the SRA to characterize the “project area” as a “decadent area” and to prepare an Urban Renewal Plan for its redevelopment. The current parcels will be acquired, either by private sale or eminent domain. — Photo courtesy of Google
By Denise Keniston
tw:@denisekeniston
The Winter Hill Urban Renewal Plan, which includes the vacant 31,000 sq. ft. Star Market, has been approved by the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA). Since closing in 2007, Star Market’s two-acre lot, located at 275 Broadway, has been a “blight” on the neighborhood and fallen into a “decadent” state.
The plan has six main objectives that include “creating green and open gathering spaces” and “ensuring a pedestrian- and bike-friendly experience.” George Proakis, Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development says, “We want to bring the vibrancy back into this corner by providing affordable housing and green open space.” He adds, “This site has been a challenge for a very long time and we believe the addition of residential housing, including affordable housing units, will help mitigate Somerville’s lack of affordable housing and provide green, open space, along with underground parking.”
A sore point for residents and city urban developers
The “project area” will be redrawn into D1, D2, and D3. It will include residential housing with affordable units, green and open space, and mixed use. An estimated 60% of the surface area of the area is currently pavement.
The old Star Market is a touchy subject for residents and city urban developers who, for years, have watched private attempts at redeveloping the area fail. The proposed “project area” will become one site, consisting of five parcels and a private right of way known as Temple Square. This includes the vacant Star Market building, two decrepit lots on Sewall Street, a private right of way called Sewall Court, the existing Walgreens building, and two buildings at the corner of 9 Temple St. and 313 Broadway. Once acquired the area will be redrawn into three parcels D1, D2, and D3.
Many residents have submitted comments to the city in favor of the plan. Aaron Weber, of 32 Summit Ave. says, “The empty Star Market lot has been a blight on the community for far too long, and the neighborhood badly needs the open space, businesses, and homes that the new plan provides.” He adds, “I am especially encouraged by the city’s engagement with neighborhood groups, which has led to the open space and the emphasis on creating moderately priced and subsidized homes to counterbalance the increased demand brought on by the Green Line Extension.”
Brendan Boyd of Prescott St. says, “I would like to reach out to indicate my support of Somerville’s plan for urban renewal in Winter Hill on the old Star Market lot. I think the initiative of developing the abandoned lot to provide affordable housing and retail business potential is worth the investment and cost to relocate affected businesses and the two residences.”
The use of eminent domain could ignite a legal battle
George Lopez operates Elegancia Barber Shop at 9 Temple St., which will be part of D3 in the “project area”. His landlord, attorney Phil Privitera, says legal action is a possibility. Lopez and others will be entitled to relocation benefits as mandated by the state. ~ Photo by Riann Keniston-Hale
George Lopez operates the Elegancia Barber Shop on the ground level of 9 Temple Street, a three-story, mixed-zone building including two apartments. Lopez could unwittingly find himself in the middle of a legal battle between the building owner and the city should the city try to acquire the property through eminent domain. But for now, Elegancia benefits from a “great location” at the corner of Temple and Broadway. “I get good traffic and visibility here and I love this location,” says Lopez. “I was told by a city official ‘not to worry about it’ and I was told the ‘process will take at least 4-5 years,’ so I’m not really worried about it right now, but I will miss this location if I have to relocate.”
The developer, who has not yet been selected, would ideally negotiate a purchase of all the properties privately, only requiring the SRA’s use of eminent domain if a private sale is not reached.
Should that happen, the city could have a unique fight on its hands. Attorney Phil Privitera owns 9 Temple St. He says in the city’s “zeal” to redevelop the “blighted” buildings they have wrongly swept his “maintained” property into their plans. He wants the plans resubmitted without 9 Temple and 313 Broadway. Privitera says he has the “legal knowledge” and “passion” to fight the project.
“The innocent victims in these two ancillary parcels (9 Temple and 313 Broadway) did nothing wrong,” he says. “They are hardworking, predominantly immigrant, local citizens, who all contribute to the economy, community and fabric of Somerville. They should be commended and praised not punished, persecuted and relocated. They are being treated like ‘collateral damage’ for the mere goal of ‘making it easier’ for a non-local developer to bid on this project.”
The approval process is just beginning. The Winter Hill Urban Renewal Plan still needs to pass the Somerville Planning Board, the Somerville City Council, and the Mass. Department of Housing and Community Development. The complete plan is downloadable on the City of Somerville’s website.
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Everyone complains about the cars in Somerville. Maybe if they opened these areas up to parking spaces, it would actually help allieviate some of the congestion.
Much of the problem stems from people trying to find parking spaces, or parking on busy streets, where bikes and pedestrians have to worry about not being seen when someone opens their door or pulls out of the space.
There is so much focus on pedestrians and bikes, but if there were more spaces for cars to park off the streets, it would make more of a difference than just shutting down streets to traffic. Plus, the City could get additional revenue, which is something they never turn away from.
It’s bad enough businesses have been leaving the city, but if we can at least repurpose the space to give more cars parking areas, it would become a positive way to allow everyone to move around more safely.
Cars aren’t going anywhere. What we need are more ways to move them out of heavily congested areas so that cars, bikes and pedestrians don’t have to contend with one another.
@LindaS – why would encourage MORE cars? don’t you see that as exacerbating an existing challenge.
The owner will fight this due to the fact he has been screwed over by the city for years. It would be not be right for the eminent domain process to be misused in this case. There is no reason for it. Winter Hill wants a supermarket. That;s all. They can’t even fill up the new building next door as it is. I am glad the owner of the old star has the money to fight it for what is right.
Building more parking doesn’t really reduce “congestion”. It’s those “pesky” traffic signals that make everything safe that really creates a line of cars. And unless, you’re willing to give up that safety for when you’re walking around or a car pulling in from a side street — which I guess some people may be as “shoot yourself in the foot” as that is just to get somewhere a minute faster — “congestion” won’t ever really go away.
Phil Privitera… please don’t hold delay this process with a long legal battle. I sincerely hope you get a good price for your properties, but we have waited too long for this much needed redevelopment, and building around your properties is not the answer, as you well know. Let’s move forward quickly, with wins for everyone.
“Blight” is a wonderfully vague word. “Something that frustrates plans or hopes”, “something that impairs or destroys”, and “a deteriorated condition” per Webster. It’s hard to argue that a parking lot and commercial building are incompatible with or detrimental to a commercial district, as long as they’re kept up reasonably well. In this case it is blight only because it “frustrates the plans and hopes” of another party that wishes it to be something else. My neighbor’s house, for example, is blight because it frustrates my plans and hopes of there being open space next to me. And on this note, 90% of the new developments in Somerville are of such poor design that I deem them blight simply because they “impair or destroy” the quality of life of those who must gaze upon them.
Ultimately courts interpret all this to allow cities to do whatever they want, so this is just me pounding sand. But I do hope Mr. Privitera, just for the heck of it, drags this out as long as possible.