Planning for a new city at 217 Somerville Ave. is fully underway. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Cassidy Beek

The City of Somerville’s Public Space and Urban Forestry (PSUF) Division held a virtual town meeting on Wednesday, August 2 to discuss future plans for a new 6,500 sq. ft. pocket park at 217 Somerville Ave.

Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott and Jon Bronenkant, a new public space planner for Somerville, presented information on the history of the site, the potential elements and a tentative timeline for the project. The community was also given multiple opportunities throughout the meeting to ask questions and share their unique ideas.

The site will add .15 acres of open space to Somerville, which is a vital step in achieving 105 additional acres of land as part of the goals outlined in Somervision 2024.

Bronenkant shared the existing conditions of the lot. The lot includes heavy traffic passage due to the multimodal path running along the site on Somerville Ave., making this park the ideal destination for rest and shade amongst the roads and commercial businesses. There is also abutting fencing and residences on two sides to be mindful of during the design process.

“There’s not a lot of green, there’s not much open space and it’s a lot of parking lots and buildings. Acquiring this land and creating it into open space will be key to cooling this area down and kind of creating a spot for rest and relaxation along the busy Somerville Ave.,” said Bronenkant.

Bronenkant presented conceptual images of the park, to give the community an idea of what the space could include. Some ideas included naturalistic play structures, waterplay elements including a splash pad feature for cooling purposes, heavy vegetation and tree canopies for shade.

Bronenkant opened up the meeting for community members to ask questions about the design process and share general ideas for the site.

Dorian Yablin, a community member, recommended ADA equipment and STEM related play features to be incorporated. Bronenkant aims to make the park as green and accessible as possible despite ADA features requiring additional space to install.

“I think we can definitely look at ways of incorporating green infrastructure or something about pollinators and different forest communities. Also, we can include some signage and kind of engage them in the green infrastructure or environmental factors that this park is dealing with,” said Bronenkant.

Community members expressed immense appreciation for the creation of additional greenspace in the area and encouraged the park to be multi-use including a passive space for relaxation and recreational playground for children.

Many shared interest in designing the park to include naturalistic elements by incorporating wooden play structures as opposed to colorful ones, and boulders for a water feature. More ideas included a protective barrier from Somerville Ave. and the addition of a Miyawaki forest.

After being asked about the design process for the park, Bronenkant said that proceeding a quick analysis of the site, the division wrote a scope of work for the designer to implement, outlining the tasks the designer is responsible for. The division also issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), permitting designers to apply, submit their items and undergo the interview process.

Multiple community members requested in-person meetings for the future. Bronenkant said that once the designer has been hired, he hopes to engage the community in different ways including holding an on-site meeting.

The division has taken the steps to submit PARC grants for project funding, and is beginning the process of hiring a design team and completing the public process input process. The division aims to produce construction drawings and hire a contractor by Winter 2023/2024. In Spring 2024, they are looking for construction to begin and by Spring 2025, for the project to be complete and open to the public.

For more information about upcoming meetings and updates on the park visit the project page at voice.somervillema.gov/217-somerville-ave.