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What type of commercial space would be best for a planned development at 278-292 Washington St. and 12 and 16-20 Swanton St.? That was the question raised at an ongoing review and public hearing on the project by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).
“I have definite views as to what shouldn’t be there, like something that creates a lot of fumes,” said ZBA Chair Dorothy Simboli during the Jan. 14 meeting. “I think it
A memo from the Planning Board of Jan. 6 is prompting the discussion.
“The Planning Board urges the Board of Appeals to encourage retail uses for the commercial space over office space to better serve the needs of the building tenants and immediate neighborhood,” the memo reads.
That’s consistent with uses the Planning Board envisions for commercial space in the 10 Converse Place/33 Mt. Vernon Street development, specifically some type of food based use such as a coffee shop or ice cream parlor that would dovetail with use of open space between the building and Mill Pond.
“We’d like to see retail; it would enhance the building, but it could be offices,” said Mark Vaughn, attorney for the Melanson Development Group (MDG). “We’re open to whoever would be paying the rent. We need to be responsive to the market and can’t be limited to something we may not be able to do. If there are hurdles, it’s problematic. There were a whole range of uses there before.”
The site once the location of a convenient store, dry cleaners, photo shop and restaurants.
Developer Jay Melanson seemed to negate the idea of a restaurant as opposed to a coffee shop because it would require long-term parking.
While the idea of a coffee shop or ice cream parlor, etc. is popular with officials, it may not be with potential residents. Unlike a professional office or another business that attracts customers during business hours, a food based establishment operates at night and on weekends and becomes a social gathering place, with people in the vicinity of the building at hours when other areas of town are quiet. It also may attract insects or rodents.
Discussion of parking and traffic was tabled because the town’s Engineering Department is still reviewing the issues and the absence of MDG traffic consultants from Toole Design and Vanesse and Associates.
Substitute consultant Stephen Zaets said offices or businesses open during daytime hours would result in less traffic, while local architect and urban designer Dennis Carlone, hired by the Board of Appeals to conduct a peer review, said use of the space in the early evening would make the area safer for pedestrians and residents.
Reaction from other Board of Appeals members and people in attendance was mixed.
“No one knows what the future holds,” Board of Appeals member Mark Anderson said. “I don’t want to condition it.”
Resident Claudia Mitchell admitted she’s not sure what she wants to see there.
Earlier in the meeting, MDG architects Michelle Quinn Littlefield and Mark Radner briefed the Board Appeals on details of the site plan, including its appearance and landscaping. Littlefield showed renderings of the bushings with different sections in different colors and textures, including red brick and gray-green paint over an as yet undetermined material.
The different colors and textures are designed to minimize the impact the size of the building will have on the neighborhood and have it blend into the character of the neighborhood as much as possible.
“We want to improve the overall image of the building and have it match the rhythms of the neighborhood,” Littlefield said.
Renderings are notorious for being inaccurate and Littlefield admitted “we’re not in the construction level of details yet,” but Carlone feels the renderings are pretty close to what the building will look like.”
The ZBA will continue the public hearing on Jan. 28 at Town Hall at 7 p.m.
Neil Zolot has been a freelance journalist more than 40 years. He has worked for newspapers on the North Shore and in the Boston area.
