Open Letter Submitted by the Union Square Main Streets Board of Directors. Sent to the Somerville Planning Board and as an op-ed to the Somerville Journal.
The first development project to make use of new zoning for Union Square is now before Somerville’s Planning Board. Proposed for four adjoining properties on Somerville Avenue that make-up a block of street frontage between Church and Carlton Streets are 30 new residential units and 6,500 square feet of retail space.
The Union Square zoning, passed two years ago and developed through a multi-year process with extensive community involvement, seeks, among its goals, to improve the pedestrian experience of Union Square, restore the neighborhood’s historic architecture, enable in-fill development, and encourage the creation of quality commercial and residential spaces. The zoning sets forward specific design requirements for elements such as structured parking and open space as well as requirements for affordable housing.
The proposed redevelopment 380 Somerville Avenue meets the community’s goals for Union Square and is worthy of public support.
James Herbert owns the four properties under consideration: the locally designated as historic property of 380 Somerville Avenue which now contains Well Foods Plus on the first floor with apartments on the upper floors, two houses and a small parking lot between the buildings. Jim is a long-time Somerville resident and business owner. Many people may know Londontown Antiques that he ran for many years where WellFoods is now. It is anticipated that Mr. Herbert will bring the project through the planning and permitting phases and will then sell the bundled properties to a developer who can see the project through final construction.
The redevelopment roughly doubles the number of available residential units and triples the available retail square footage. The plan proposes first floor retail to extend along the length of Somerville Ave, creating a more active street presence with small scale spaces appropriate for independently owned businesses. It fills in the “missing teeth” feeling created by the surface parking lot and draws pedestrians along an active, commercial Somerville Avenue. The upper stories would be residential with structured parking accessible from the side streets. The number of off-street parking is increased.
The redevelopment preserves the historic façade of 380 Somerville Avenue. Also known as the Bennett Block, the property was likely inspired by Aaron Gould, the architect of two other mixed use commercial-residential properties in Union Square. In the proposal, this façade will be maintained to stand opposite the Drouet building on the other side of Somerville Avenue, serving as a distinctive gateway into Union Square.
The design is a thoughtful one that pays attention to the surrounding neighborhood. The design is by Jeff Meese, an architect with a specialty in historic preservation and a close knowledge of Somerville. Jeff is working with Janis Mamayek of ICON architecture, another firm well familiar with reuse of older buildings. ICON’s project include the rubber factory that became the Brookside Artist Lofts in Jamaica Plain, Hotel Dartmouth in Roxbury’s Dudley Square and North Grosvenordale which transformed a 150 year old mill village into over 100 units of affordable housing.
The redevelopment does mean that the interior of 380 Somerville Ave and two other residential structures are demolished to make way for a new structure. While concerns about displacement of the current renters are appropriate, there is significant time to find new homes for the residents and a new retail location for WellFoods in Union Square.
Ensuring that Union Square has a mix of housing options is essential to the neighborhood’s future. As Union Square continues to increase in stature as a great place to live, and particularly when the Greenline station opens, market demand on the limited residential options is going to intensify. The new development doubles the amount of housing on those parcels, a notable step to increasing the available places to live in Somerville.
Currently these properties on Somerville Avenue offer low rents because the quality of the buildings themselves is low. As we’ve seen all over the city, if sold separately, these multi-family homes are typically renovated into condos and sold at a price out of reach for many low and moderate income Somervillians. The proposed redevelopment is of a scale that four apartments will be made permanently affordable for Union Square’s residents. These places will be clean, safe, and well-maintained places to live.
Redevelopment of this property generates new tax revenues and helps the City maintain needed services like schools, libraries, and the protection of police and fire. While Union Square is nearly equal in land area to Davis Square, this neighborhood generates just 54% of the assessed value. The three structures in question range in assessed value from $164 a square foot to a meager $80 a square foot. By way of comparison, Redfin is showing this month that average price per square foot for Somerville properties is $332 a square foot.
Change is coming to Union Square and the new zoning ordinance was carefully constructed so that as this change comes the community as a whole benefits. If Somerville is to meet the challenges of the coming century for new housing, more jobs, good schools and healthy neighborhoods we’ve got to welcome those willing and able to invest in Union Square and to work positively together. How our community responds to this sound redevelopment proposal demonstrates to other potential investors our willingness embrace change and our ability to solve challenges together.
The long term benefits of this redevelopment are substantial for Union Square and for Somerville and the proposal is deserving of community support.
Signed,
The Union Square Main Streets Board of Directors
The Somerville Community Corporation is planning to purchase the former site of the Somerville Boys and Girls Club at 181 Washington Street. Their hope is to demolish the current structure and create 40+ units of affordable rental housing with commercial units on the first floor. This would be the second proposal to come forward in the neighborhood making use of the new zoning code focused on denser, transit oriented development.
Somerville’s Planning Board will be voting upon an application to redevelop 378 to 390 Somerville Avenue at an upcoming meeting. The meeting is expected to be no earlier than the April meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 6 pm at City Hall. This is the first development project to come forward that makes use of new zoning rules for Union Square passed nearly two years ago. The proposal before the Board would create 30 new residential units and 6,500 square feet of retail space.
