New plan unveiled for Addison-Wesley site
Published on March 28th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - According to Town Counsel Bill Solomon, while many neighbors may still have issues with the project, the Selectmen were attempting to work-out a solution that served the best interests of the town.
Specifically, when the Selectmen voted down the project over two-years-ago in a 3-2 vote, a supermajority is required for site plan approval, Houghton filed an application for a building permit.
Building Inspector Cheryl Noble, noting that the Selectmen rejected the proposal, refused to issue that authorization. The local attorney, largely anticipating that denial, then challenged that denial with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), a procedural move required to appeal to land court.
In a unanimous decision shortly thereafter, the ZBA was more than happy to oblige, similarly dunking the doughnut shop due to the lack of a site plan approval.
Since that time, with litigation pending against the town, the Selectmen, reportedly during several executive sessions, agreed to try to settle the legal case with the applicant.
"The question was whether it's in the best interests of the town to put limits [on this project] then to have the unknown," said Solomon. "While it's not possible to consider everybody in the world, the reason you're here is because the Board of Selectmen thought you should be heard [before our settlement was endorsed]."
"Your odds are zero of getting a crossing guard, of getting a right-hand turning lane [at the high school], and having this opened only until 8 p.m.," Town Administrator David Ragucci chimed in. "That's the risk you take if this is not approved here tonight."
In a subsequent 4-0-1 vote - Selectmen Paul Rotondi recused himself from the hearing - the proposal passed.
New plan unveiled for Addison-Wesley site
READING, MA - Representatives from National Development unveiled their 'very preliminary' plans for the former Addison Wesley site at a public forum last night, plans which give new meaning to the term 'mixed use'.
Before a standing-room-only crowd at the Senior Center, Ted Tye, one of four principals at National Development, and Scott Weiss, a Vice President at the firm, gave a presentation on a proposal that would essentially split the site into four sections, each featuring a different use - town houses in one, senior housing in the second area, multi-family apartments in the third, and either office or a small retail component in the fourth section.
"These plans are very preliminary in nature," said Tye. "We don't want you to see these images and say that's not what I want in Reading. They are meant to generate discussion, and we will take those ideas and concerns and come back with a more refined proposal at another time."
The night started with a brief discussion about National Development and how the company became involved with the site.
National Development, based out of Newton, has been asked to step in by the Addison Wesley site's owner, Pearson, to help facilitate a proposal for the property that will work for the town, Pearson, and S.R. Weiner, the company that originally pitched the Park Square lifestyle retail center plans for the site and will remain involved in the potential future development of the property.
Tye and Weiss, have stated that it is the developer's intent to take a two-prong approach to getting a project in place at the site - the developer will continue to consider possible office uses at the site (which would be allowed under the current zoning for the location), while also pursuing the placement of an overlay district on the site to allow a mixed-use development, including residential and a limited amount of retail/office space.
According to a published company profile, "National Development is an interdisciplinary real estate company that provides development, construction, asset management and investment acquisition services. The Newton, Massachusetts-based firm is ranked as one of the largest development companies in Massachusetts. National has a diverse product base with major projects in the office, industrial, retail, senior housing, multifamily, hotel and institutional sectors. Since 1983, National Development has developed over twelve million square feet in 40 communities throughout the region. In addition, the firm manages over six million square feet of assets."
Tye handles many of National Development's major commercial, retail and residential projects, including Station Landing in Medford, a winner of the state's 2006 Smart Growth Award.
Station Landing is a new transit-oriented waterfront community being developed on a 16 acre site at Wellington Circle in Medford. The project will include 650 residential units, 100,000 square feet of street level retail, a fitness club, a 190 room hotel, 165,000 square feet of office space and a 1900 car parking garage.
It has an active 'main street' that terminates at a waterfront park on the Mystic River. There will be direct pedestrian access to the Wellington MBTA stop via an enclosed skywalk
Phase I of Station Landing includes 292 apartments and 68,000 square feet of street level retail in 2 six-story buildings. Phase II includes a twelve-story condominium. Phase III will include the sports club. Future phases include expansion of the existing parking garage, the hotel, 231 residential units and additional retail.
The City of Medford created a new Mixed Use Zoning District (MUZ) to allow the mix of uses proposed for the site.
National Development is also involved in the proposal that would place retail and residential structures at the Colonial golf course property in Lynnfield.
Next Tye outlined a series of goals he and his firm hope to address as part of the process involving the site. Several were community goals, such as creating an appropriate 'Gateway for Reading' at the site, be sensitive towards the residential neighbors of the site, and create a positive fiscal impact for the community.
He also talked about goals for Pearson (the property owner), which included generating the necessary proceeds from the sale of the property, maintaining the underlying office zoning at the site, and also that Pearson wants to continue to be a responsible corporate citizen in Reading.
Tye then unveiled the preliminary plans for a mixed-use development at the site.
The plans call for retaining the 25-foot buffer zone, as well as the 100-foot building setback restrictions that are already in place there. Tye also said that the plan would not touch any wetlands or restricted lands at the site.
The plan itself calls for the property to be divided up into four sections.
Imagine an aerial view of the site, with Route 128 at the bottom of your view, and the border with South Street along the top. The four sections would run like this - Section D in the lower right, Section C in the lower left corner, Section B in the upper left corner, and Section A in the upper right corner.
According to the plans displayed last night, Section A would feature roughly 20 town houses.
Section B would be used for senior housing, calling for the construction of approximately 120 units.
Section C would feature multi-family apartments, with discussions last night centering around approximately 250 units being built.
Section D, which abuts Route 128, would feature either office space (220,000 square feet), or a small retail component (likely between one and three stores, coming in at 90,000 square feet).
"At this time we are leaning more towards office development," said Tye.
Weiss then presented some very preliminary traffic figures, showing that such a plan would generate 540 vehicle trips during the peak hour on a weekday morning, 640 trips during the evening peak hour, and 640 trips during a Saturday peak hour, versus the Park Square lifestyle retail center proposal, which anticipated generating 1,330 vehicle trips during the evening peak hour and 1,638 trips during a Saturday peak hour.
A timeline for the plan calls for a the proposal for the site and a proposal for an Overlay District be refined in April and May,
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