Photo of exterior rendering of mixed-use project proposed for 483 Summer St.
Better, but not good enough: That was the overall assessment from the Redevelopment Board as it continued a hearing on a mixed-use plan for the site of the former Nano’s garage, across from the Summer Street baseball field.
“Add a little more zing,” board member Andrew West told representatives of Campobasso Properties of Arlington, suggesting alterations to the site plan and the exterior of seven residential units plus retail space. He called the windows “formulaic” and the overall look of the building “institutional.”
The hearing, begun in February, was continued a second time on Monday, June 26, and no date was set.
West asked that the building be turned to be more parallel to Summer Street. He said that would make it seem farther away from the street within the same square footage.
He suggested making the second and third floors higher and increasing window heights.
Board member Kin Lau said the proposal would be a better fit for neighborhood by decreasing the building size or by lowering it by three feet, to improve access to the entrance. He suggested removing what he called “the funky stairs in the back.”
Attorney Robert Annese, citing a letter from an insurance company, said the building cannot be shrunk.
At the first hearing, residents and board members expressed concernresidents and board members expressed concern about the parking scheme for cars and bicycles as well as about storm-water control.
Combined-site parking
Annese said his clients had tried to address parking issues at 483 Summer St. by combining spaces next door, at 489 Summer, which Campobasso owns. That would avoid tandem parking proposed earlier.
Together, the two addresses would create 26 spaces. The town’s zoning code requires 22 for the two properties.
Annese said applicants plan to incorporate enclosed bicycle parking for the residents and bicycle spaces for commercial properties.
Board member David Watson, formerly executive director of MassBike, described the latest plan as having made “a huge amount of progress.”
He praised the enclosed bicycle parking and wondered whether it could be sited indoors. Joseph Ronayne, presenting plans for the developer, noted the relative small retail space, at less than 1,000 square feet each.
Watson said that what he called “dish racks don’t work for modern bicycles.”
Water runoff addressed
As to concerns about storm-water runoff expressed in February, Jack Sullivan of Sullivan Engineering Group, said he had withdrawn an initial rain garden after concerns from the town engineer in favor of conventional infiltration.
Sullivan said the new plan has a berm, aimed to direct runoff to three drain areas. He said that would contain runoff from a 100-year storm as well as reduce runoff volume.
Asked by Lau about contamination, an issue a resident raised in February, because the site was a garage until 2013, Annese said an environmental study was done. The level of contamination found, he said, was below reportable levels.
He said questionable soil would be removed and a vapor barrier installed, though Annese added: “We don’t think we need it.”
Residents raised continued concerns about traffic, building scale and runoff. Board members asked the proponents seeking a special permit to first address design and siting suggestions.
The project would include four storefronts that would encompass 2,774 square feet of retail space, 782 square feet of office space and seven residential units.
Campobasso Properties plans to occupy the offices. The residential apartments are to be one one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units. One of the seven is to be priced for affordable housing for a tenant making no more than 80 percent of the area median income. The income limit for a one-person household seeking an affordable unit is about $51,000.
Feb. 7, 2017: Summer St. mixed-use project to return after concerns expressed
This news summary published Wednesday, June 28, 2017.
