Change possible for Langwood site
Published on July 20th, 2005
Under pressure from Zoning Board members, the developers of the mixed-use Langwood Commons proposal sliced 100 housing units off of the residential portion of the Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC) site plan.
According to Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Chairman Frank Valleralli, he had a number of outstanding concerns with the former 550-unit affordable housing proposal - which also includes plans for the redevelopment of 250,000 square feet of commercial space at the old BRMC property.
"Following the last meeting we had, I basically took it upon myself to contact the attorney for the developer," Valleralli announced at the opening of last Thursday's ZBA meeting. "I asked them to take another look at the proposal and possibly reduce the number of units from 550."
Specifically, the new 450-unit proposal would differ from the original housing counts in the following ways:
| Old | New | |
|---|---|---|
| Condo | 110 | 106 |
| Townhouses | 50 | 54 |
| Apartments | 390 | 290 |
While not formally withdrawing the original proposal from the table, local Attorney Charles Houghton explained that the 100-unit reduction, which he characterized as a potential alternative plan, would create a trickle down impact to a number of criticisms raised by opponents.
Besides the most obvious change, a reduction in the overall density of the site's layout, the Stoneham attorney claimed the total number of school-aged children residing at the development would be significantly reduced by adding a 55-plus homeowner component in the townhouse portions of the site.
According to Simpson Housing, LP, spokesman Bill Caulder, lowering the number of school children living at the development will also result in a greater financial benefit to Stoneham, despite the fact that reducing the total number of dwellings subtracts from the overall bottom line revenue stream.
"Obviously, reducing 100 units from the project, you also reduce the overall revenue stream," Caulder said. "But two things in this mix are the 55 and older aspect, which will reduce the number of school aged kids in those 54 units, as well as reconfiguring [and reducing the number of three-bedroom apartments]."
"So the actual school-age child impact has been reduced now where we have a $30,000 increase in fiscal benefits to the town," the developer added, saying the overall net fiscal gains would change from $412,732 to $443,629.
According to the petitioners, the new plan would also render the project more appealing by increasing open-space, reducing the number of total parking spaces, and decreasing the resulting traffic below "historical levels".
The specific figures surrounding those impacts, as presented by the developers, are as follows:
- A total reduction in vehicle movements coming to and from the site by 160 daily vehicle trips, resulting in a 5-percent decrease in peak-hour traffic
- Increasing the percentage of green-space, or open-space, by two percent
- Eliminating approximately 1200 on-site parking spaces through the elimination of one-level of below grade parking and one-level of above grade parking
- An overall reduction in the property's total square footage of 320,000 square feet
- A likely decrease in the number of variances being requested by the developers: a number previously cited under the former 550-unit plan as 18 required waivers
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