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Plans
to rezone Broadway with the hope to help restore Somerville's economy
and create a place for new jobs. ~Photo by Bobbie Toner |
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Martin Levenson
On
Tuesday, March 24th, at the Cross Street Senior Center, city officials
from the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD)
held an informal information session with constituents. The goal of
this community meeting was to garner wide support for the OSPCD's
desire to rezone Broadway in East Somerville. "We're not looking for
sweeping change," Madeleine Masters, the city's planning director,
says. These changes will be moderate and done with the best intentions
of restoring Somerville's economy and creating a place for new jobs.
These changes will include a new Green Line T station, more retail
development, and safer streets for pedestrians.
An important
motivating factor behind this rezoning plan is the Winter Hill Star
Market which has been closed for more than a year. Since this time, no
business has taken its place. "We did hear that a Dollar Store was
coming in," remarks Ms. Masters in passing. However, instead of a
Dollar Store, Ms. Masters and her Office in City Hall are planning to
create retail shops that will attract people from all over the
community, renewing the community's economy and spirit. Walter F. Pero,
alderman for Ward Four – where the Star Market stands – is very pleased
with this plan, saying, "This is an opportunity to have some real
positive development on Winter Hill."
Broadway is losing worth
each day. "The value of the building [in Broadway] is less than the
value of the land it stands on," says Ms. Masters. The OSPCD wishes to
change that with their new vision for East Somerville. As part of this
vision, Broadway will be safe, day and night, and stores will have
pleasing storefronts and access to parking garages. A store with parked
cars right in front of its entrance, according to OSPCD officials,
lessens the likelihood of a person shopping there. The new retail
shops, office buildings and restaurants will be as aesthetically
pleasing as the city of Somerville can muster. To make sure most of
these new businesses operate in a way that's healthy for the planet,
there is an incentive to build green, OSPCD tells us. Developers will
be given more area and more height to work with if they include green
energy or use green building materials, or both.
Sections of A.
Alfred Lombardi Street, near the existing Orange line T station, will
under this plan, be turned into a Transit Oriented District 70 (TOD
70). This means that many of the buildings in the area will be seventy
feet high, either commercial or residential structures. One resident of
Lombardi, shares his concern with us. "I admit a lot of that area has
to be redeveloped," says Jeremy Bowman, but Mr. Bowman is not sure that
tall buildings, overshadowing existing residences like his, are a
solution.
Any questions or comments for the OSPCD are
encouraged. There will, in time, be a public hearing on the rezoning of
Broadway. East Somerville residents not in attendance at this meeting
are asked to visit the city's website (www.somervillama.gov) for access
to the zoning maps and handouts given out at this meeting. The OSPCD
can be reached at 617-625-6600, ext. 2500.
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